The Stronger Evil
by DONOVAN94
Summary: A proverb says: "He who pursues revenge should dig two graves." Shendu thirsts for vengeance on his enemies, even if he is undermined by his yearning for one woman: Valerie Payne, a woman torn by her need for freedom against the demon who loves her. When his past clashes with her future, they will have no choice but to come together to face a threat they never thought could exist.
1. The Chan Clan Reunited

**Author's Note: Hello Everyone! Welcome to my second JCA story. For those of you who are returning readers, welcome back, and I hope that you really enjoy this story and where I take this AU. For new readers, this is a sequel to my story "The Ultimate Evil", if you haven't yet read that one, I would seriously recommend it because otherwise some references and pieces of information in this story won't make sense.**

 **Still here? Good. As you can see, this story is starting from the end of Season 3 and will be going into Season 4 and 5.**

 **Also note - whilst this story is starting out with a 'T' rating, at some point during the story it will shift up to 'M' rating. So just a fair warning now.**

 **With all that said, I hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to review!**

* * *

The Stronger Evil

* * *

The Chan Clan Reunited

* * *

"Well, Brian is obviously a charming man, but I think it's good that he likes to help people – he seems rather genuine, anyway. As I was saying: He put up a notice that he was in the market for a saleswoman, which my friend Becky saw, who told her neighbour Cassey, who told her mother Frieda, and it just so happens that we share a hairdresser – so that's how I found out. I mean, the money is good for the time being, and the man himself is not exactly bad either. He's well off, and single besides…"

Valerie let her mother drone on whilst she stared at the calendar in the kitchen, quite perplexed. Stephanie Payne's words faded into nothing as Valerie concentrated with everything she had on the current month. February. For some reason she felt a sense of pressure on her chest, as if she had forgotten something important.

And that was when she saw it. A little mark in the corner of the square for February 9th: Chinese New Year. It hit Valerie like a brick to the face. The Chans.

Having spent nearly a year with the Chan family, they had obviously left their mark on her. Chinese New Year had been a great occasion for their family, filled with sweets, lanterns, fireworks and celebrations… and gunfights, demons, and foiling plans for world domination. Valerie had learned quickly that life with the Chans was never 'normal'.

But she'd loved them anyway. They'd become her family, her rock in a turbulent time in her life. The only reason she'd left them several months ago was to try to make things better with her family back in Toronto. And also because she wanted to sort her head around the memory of an evil dragon-demon making her his bride and power booster.

She looked down at the mark on her left hand. A large scar that ran from the right heel of her palm to just beneath her forefinger. Her mother had been livid when she'd first noticed, but Valerie couldn't tell her the real explanation for it. _Yes, a fire-demon married me in an alternate reality, he bound me to him and this mark is the only evidence that it ever happened_. No, she knew her mother would put her in the nearest asylum if she ever heard that. Instead, she'd told her that she'd cut herself cooking.

Valerie didn't know why she still had the mark. The binding ceremony had happened in an alternate dimension, and when history had been rewritten back to normal, it had technically never happened. Perhaps it was just one of those time-space-continuum loopholes? In any event, it had never given her any trouble. She'd felt it twitch only once, but it had laid dormant ever since.

She stared back at the Calendar. The date for Chinese New Year stared back at her. A sense of loss enveloped her heart, and again that urgency crept its way into her veins. It was overwhelming, suffocating. She wouldn't be able to breathe unless she broke free of it. Thoughts spun in her head: did they miss her? What were they doing this New Year? Were they alright? Would they want to see her?

What was she talking about? Of course they would! Jade regularly rang her almost every other day to talk to her. The girl never stopped saying how much she wanted Valerie to come back to San Fran. And besides, it was New Year, that was enough reason to visit, right?

A smile cracked across her face. It seemed there was more reason for her to go then stay.

"… And Margery was telling me how she's picking lilacs and lilies for the wedding," her mother was saying. "Lilacs, I like, but lilies are just ghastly, they remind me too much of a funeral. But I know that you will look stunning in purple! Just the right occasion to take Brian–"

"I'm leaving."

Valerie's mother stopped short and gaped at her. Valerie almost found it funny the way her mother's mouth hung open like a fish as she tried to wrap catch up with what Valerie had just said.

"What?"

"I'm going back to San Francisco. I have some friends there I'm seeing to celebrate Chinese New Year."

"B-But I thought you'd moved back – have I done something–"

"Mom, don't worry, it's okay," Valerie said gently and placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "I'm just going to visit a few friends for their holidays. That's all."

"Do they know you're coming?"

Valerie lied automatically. "Sure. I'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry."

"Oh. Well, when are you leaving then?"

"Tonight."

* * *

The flight had been horrendous, and the taxi ride had been awful with the evening traffic. Because of all this, Valerie arrived much later then she would've liked. But it was worth it in the end to stand on the sidewalk and look up at the familiar shop front.

Uncle's Rare Finds. Just looking at the front door brought a huge grin to Valerie's face. The shop looked closed, but through the window Valerie could see a sliver of light escape the back room. With duffle bag slung over her shoulder, she could hardly contain herself and stepped inside.

The bell above the door chimed happily, like an old friend excitedly announcing her arrival home. Valerie closed the door behind her, dropped her bag and held out her arms, waiting to be showered with affection.

Nothing.

She looked around. Nothing. She knew someone was in, and though she wasn't vain enough to expect a huge welcome party, she was a bit put out that no one had come to the door. When she'd worked here, she'd always made sure the door was answered… 90% of the time.

That small light still glowed from the back room. Valerie tiptoed in its direction. The closer she got, the more she heard voices. Ever so gently, she pushed the door open another crack and peered inside.

Jackie, Tohru and Jade were stood in a triangle formation. All the piles of books and bookshelves that usually forested this room had been pushed against the walls in order to make as much room as possible. Each of them held a lantern, whilst Uncle sat in the centre, beside the statue of a dragon. Jackie, Tohru and Jade took up a haunting chant.

" _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao…"_ Their lanterns began to glow bright green, their fiery light spreading to one another until they enclosed Uncle in a perfect triangle. Valerie held her breath as she watched silently. Uncle hummed, and the dragon statue began to levitate off of the floor. A wind gathered in the room, tossing their hair about but they continued their chant.

 _"_ _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao_!"

A burst of green light. Valerie ducked behind her arms to shield herself from the glare. She heard a clatter and looked up. The statue lay on the floor, the others gathered around it as if waiting for something to happen.

"Wow, I was expecting a 'Hi Val', you didn't have to go with fireworks," she remarked loudly with a smile.

The others gasped and turned around to stare at her. There was a moment where they blinked.

Jade was the first to break the silence and roared: "VALERIE!"

She ran at her. It was all Valerie could do to sweep the little girl into her arms when she leapt at her. Jade threw her arms around Valerie's neck and hugged her fiercely. Despite her windpipe being crushed, Valerie returned the hug just as tightly.

"I knew it! I knew you'd come back!"

Valerie grinned and pulled the girl back so that she could see those beautiful honey gold eyes. "Told you I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but why didn't you call?"

"I wanted to surprise you for New Year."

"You're staying for New Years? Awesome!" Jade cheered.

Valerie chuckled and stood. Jackie was the first to come up to her, a huge smile on his face. Valerie couldn't contain her own joy as her swept her into a hug just as tight as his niece's.

"It's good to see you again, Valerie," he murmured.

"Hey, Jackie." She pulled back and quickly turned to the old man as he came up to her. "Uncle – OW!"

It took her a moment to register that Uncle had struck her with two fingers on her forehead. She rubbed the spot, dumbfounded that he had actually hit her like that. The look on his face was hardly pleased.

"Shop assistant been gone too long!" he screeched. "One more thing: shop in need of cleaning. One more thing, interrupting spell might have thrown off chi balance! One MORE thing–"

Valerie cut him off with a roll of her eyes and swept his frail body into a hug. "I missed you too, Uncle."

Uncle practically jumped to get out of her hold. But the blush the hinted under his shallow cheeks was adorable. Valerie decided not to rile him further and looked up at her favourite sumo.

Tohru smiled down at her. "It is good to see you again, Valerie."

"It's good to see you too, Tohru. How's the apprenticeship coming?"

"I am still learning." He looked away, as if attempting to find the right words. "Uncle is… unrushed in his methods."

Valerie laughed. "Ha! I can believe that!"

Jade jumped up and down. She held onto Valerie's hand, desperate for her attention. "Please say that you're staying, Val! Pleeeeeeease!"

"Jade," Jackie scolded softly, "don't pester Valerie right now. She just got back."

"It's okay, Jackie." She turned her eyes onto the young girl again. "I don't know what I'm doing just yet. But I've got a motel all booked so–"

"JACKIE!" Uncle shouted. "Make up sofa! Uncle will not have his shop assistant in some motel – bad chi flows in those places."

"Oh, no, it's alright–"

Jackie was quick to hush her. "Just let him have his way. Makes him easier to deal with."

Valerie giggled behind her hand.

Tohru left to get them some tea, and they all sat around in the back room. Uncle took the only available chair, claiming he trumped them for the right as it was his shop and he had old bones. Valerie refrained from saying anything that might earn her another smack to the head.

"So Val, what've you been up to?" Jade asked brightly.

"Well… Toronto's been a bit rough. I'm trying to be a historian. But that's a bit further then I thought. So I've been in between jobs you might say." She sheepishly looked at them all. "It's nothing compared to what we used to do. And you have no idea how frustrating it is to read a history book and know that half the facts are wrong because of magic."

Tohru re-entered with the tea and handed each of them a small cup. Uncle took his with a quiet 'thank you' before turning his nose up at the conversation again. "Heh. Fools to think chi magic a _myth_."

"Easy to say when you're practising it in your back room," Valerie winked. She hooked her thumb as the discarded dragon statue. "What was all that about?"

"A locator spell."

"For what?"

"We're trying to locate a dragon," Jackie said. "To find the power of combustion."

Valerie frowned. "Isn't that the dragon talisman?"

" _Was_ …" Jade murmured.

Jackie nodded. "There was an attack on Section 13. A Dark-Chi wizard, Daolon Wong, wanted them."

Valerie's frown deepened. "Who's–?"

"An EVIL man!" Uncle spat. "He destroyed my Chi-Master Fong!"

"Uncle." Jackie hissed softly to shut him up. He turned back to Valerie and continued. "The Talismans were destroyed. But the powers weren't."

"How is that possible?"

"The laws of physics say that energy cannot die. It is only transferable," Tohru explained. "The powers inside the talismans escaped and sought vessels to house them – in the form of living animals."

"Wait, wait! So just like when we hunted for the talismans a year ago, you guys have been searching for the exact same thing, except now with real life animals?"

Jade nodded. "Yeah, and we've found nearly all of them! They're all back in Section 13."

"Almost." Jackie corrected. "Daolon Wong has the powers of levitation and heat-beam eyes."

Valerie looked back at the statue as Uncle stooped to pick it up. "So the locator spell was attempting to find a dragon that would have the dragon talisman?"

"Yes." Uncle nodded, but a worried expression haunted his eyes. "But the locator spell has found nothing."

"Duh. It couldn't find a dragon because they're extinct," Jade said as if this should be obvious to everyone. "The only one left on earth was Shendu – and he's doing afterlife in the interdimensional slammer."

"Jade," Jackie looked at her as if he'd already said this a thousand times. "We had to be absolutely certain that the power of combustion has not found a host."

Tohru said, "With no dragon to inhabit, the power remains lost. Safe from the forces of darkness."

Uncle shook his head and placed the statue on his desk. "As long as Daolon Wong roams the earth, nothing remains safe…"

Valerie bit her lip. Her thoughts consumed by red eyes and a large scaly body. Her fingers closed over her mark subconsciously. They'd all thought Shendu gone once before. Could the same be true this time? Thoughts and memories attempted to surface, but she pushed them back down. Even after all this time, she still wasn't ready to deal with them or what they meant.

Her mark hadn't even itched in several months. She had to believe that that meant something.

* * *

Shendu could not believe what he was hearing.

He'd at first been intrigued when he'd felt the familiar pull of a summoning spell. Life in the Netherworld got monotonous rather quickly when there was no marker for the passage of time. As Hsi Wu had once described, each century passed exactly like the one before it. It gave rise to madness-inducing boredom.

But Shendu had had his time consumed. When he'd first arrived back in the Netherworld, he and his siblings had had to confirm that reality had been restored and they were alive although imprisoned once again. After their relief at having lived, had come the name-blaming. Of course, they'd all held Shendu responsible, but this time they'd also blamed each other for the personal failings along the way. They were too busy arguing and fighting amongst themselves most of the time to bother with continuing Shendu's eternal torment.

He was sure, however, that eventually they would've returned to their ways of torturing him as punishment for his misdeeds. But then there was the matter that he was completed. He'd been bound to his Other, and though now they were back in the former reality and he was a spirit once again, the effects were still apparent. Shendu was not idle in demonstrating that he would no longer take their tortures. Even as a ghost, he could fight back, however slightly diminished that power was. His siblings had never encountered a completed demon before. So they thought it wise not to push him to see exactly what he could do, in the case that he proved to be more than they could handle.

It had been a gamble, but one that had worked in Shendu's favour. Though it had led to his isolation. Though peaceful, it had left him to do nothing but think on everything that had happened and it never bodes well to just stew on matters long past.

Which was why, when the Chi-Wizard Daolon Wong had summoned him and began speaking to him through the magical window, Shendu had entertained the conversation just for something to do. It was certainly pleasing to see and speak with another living creature. Though he could tell that Dark Chi surrounded this one. It poured off of his aura, had shrunken his body until he was bone-thin, paled his hair to white and twisted his features into mismatched eyes. Such was the price of dark magic on a mortal body. But Shendu had listened to him anyway.

But as he'd begun speaking with the human, he'd not been impressed. The tale he spun spoke of his precious talismans destroyed, and his hard earned powers scattered to the winds. That was something he took as an insult that his property had been so badly mistreated in his absence. But the Chi Wizard continued with what he thought was a tantalising offer. Shendu's previous interest had then turned sour with irritation at promises that couldn't be kept, and ideas and wishes he refused to entertain so as not to get his hopes up.

But the human was oblivious as he spoke his proposal and finished with a bow. "Your answer, most malevolent of fire-breathers?"

Shendu didn't bother to keep his impatience and irritation hidden. "It would seem you have summoned me merely to _humour_ me, Wizard. For to obtain the power of Combustion, you would require a living, earth-bound dragon. Which I – evidently – am _not._ "

"You underestimate my talents, Lord Shendu," Daolon Wong smirked. "As the most malevolent of Dark-Chi masters, I know a multitude of ancient spells… some of which might restore you…"

Shendu felt his non-existent insides shiver with anticipation. Was it true? Could he live and breathe once more? It was possible, and he knew the human would have to keep his side of the bargain. He needed Shendu alive and on earth in order to acquire the dragon talisman power. In that respect at least, Shendu knew he wouldn't be cheated. But could he turn this in his favour? Humans were oddly naïve – even the eviller ones – when it came to honour and integrity.

It was too good of an opportunity to waste.

" _Ahhhh_ …" he grinned. "Then you may have my rightful power, Daolon Wong. _IF_ you find the spell that will allow me to live again."

* * *

Section 13 hadn't changed a bit. Valerie was pleased to see that she still had access to the top secret government facility. And it had been good see it all again. Her giddiness had forced her to hum the men-in-black theme song as they'd taken the elevator loaded with all of Uncle's books and magical items.

Captain Black had been happy to see her, which she reciprocated warmly. It was nice chatting and grabbing a coffee with him. Even if he seemed perplexed as to why it looked like Uncle was moving into the base. Jackie and her had quickly explained that it was for the protection of the magical animals in the Section 13 Vault. Black had offered to increase security, but Uncle had gone on his high horse of how 'magic must defeat magic'!

So now, Valerie stared at the Vault, which had once housed the talismans in a specially designed container, only now to look like a miniature zoo. Each of the animals of the zodiac (excluding a dragon) were housed in their own pens and kept well fed and bedded. She watched, coffee still in hand, from the side lines as Uncle and Tohru attempted to create new talismans for the powers in the animals to be transferred to.

It wasn't going so well. After many attempts, Valerie had to wince as finally the snake Talisman shattered.

"Oh," Tohru deflated. "That was my best one."

"Hey, never mind, Tohru, there's always next time," Valerie tried to say cheerfully.

Uncle stroked his chin in thought. "The making of a talisman is very tricky business. The spells which created them have been lost for thousands of years."

"Weren't the original talismans pulled out of Shendu?" Valerie asked.

"Yes, but as you can see, we are short of a Shendu to transfer the talisman powers in and out of him."

Valerie was about to say something, when she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She looked over and spotted the dragon talisman suddenly floating in mid-air. Her eyes widened and she speechlessly pointed to it. Uncle and Jackie frowned in confusion, before following her gaze. When they saw the statue, they gasped.

"A dragon is near…" Uncle whispered.

"How is that possible?" Jackie demanded.

Jade was too busy bouncing with excitement to think. "Who cares? Let's get it!"

"Not you!" Jackie held his niece back by her orange hood. "You are staying here with Valerie – out of trouble!"

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

* * *

"How on earth do you do it?!" Valerie hissed as she ran after the girl that had just jumped out of the cab.

"Following, my feminine ingenuity," Jade grinned. "Come on!"

It had taken all of five minutes for Jade to attempt an escape. But unlike all her other hapless babysitters, Valerie had been able to spot exactly when she'd left and quickly ran after her. She'd even had to jump into a moving taxi to make sure she didn't lose her. Jade had then quickly pointed out that seeing as she was in the cab anyway, she might as well come along. Valerie had grumbled grouchily, but had conceded that Jade had a point.

They'd ordered their driver to follow the Section 13 chopper (disguised as standard military issue). They'd lagged a little further behind as they had to take bends and stops whereas the helicopter could just fly over buildings. But they'd managed to find the place just as Uncle, Jackie and Tohru broke in through the gate. Before Valerie could stop her, Jade had rushed across the street after her family, with Valerie growling and following.

So now they snuck up behind their three friends as they followed the glowing statue. Into the front yard of what looked like an old Victorian town house, with three floors, peeling paint and looking as if it had seen better days. They edged around the side of the house towards the back yard.

"If the locator spell detects a dragon…" Uncle murmured quietly. "Someone must be conjuring one…"

" _Tch,_ " Jade rolled her eyes, completely blowing their cover as the three men spun with wide eyes to see them there. "And I'll give you one guess as to who that _someone_ is!"

She ran ahead of the ground to the corner of the house before anyone could stop her. Jackie gaped at his niece and then turned his hard stare on Valerie. The woman immediately shied away.

"Hey! Don't look at me! It was all I could do just to keep up with her."

"Jade!" Jackie rounded back on his niece who had frozen in place. "This is too dangerous! We could be facing a dragon!"

"Not just any dragon…" she whimpered and pointed.

Valerie felt a shiver race down her spine, like someone had walked over her grave. She rushed ahead to stand next to Jade, panic in every step. She looked up and gasped.

"Shendu!" Jackie gasped.

Indeed, it was. In the centre of the back yard was a bubbling pool of molten fire. Posts holding flaming torches circled the outside, and between each post was a symbol burned into the earth. And raised out of the centre of the scorching pool, was a gnarled and almost ashen branch. In its clutches was what appeared to be an artificial womb or egg, and inside of it nearly stretching the fleshy sack to bursting, was a fully grown Shendu.

Even curled up and seemingly asleep as he appeared, he was just as she remembered him. Large, broad, muscular enough to make a body builder envious. Horns crowned his head, whiskers just beneath his nose, and curling tattoos between his eyes.

Valerie felt her heart flutter as memories assaulted her mind: a vortex that ended the world, and one person pushing her on to stop it; an alter where he stood beside her drinking her blood as she drank his; a kiss that ignited a heat that turned her body to liquid. Each one and thousands more dragged with it feelings she didn't want to understand. And she resolutely pushed them away.

"Awaken!" shouted a voice.

Valerie's eyes were drawn to a small man beside the pool. He was old, with white hair, pale skin and a bone thin body. He was dressed in black and blue robes that fell to the floor. Muttered incantations fell from his lips as he muttered the spell so quickly Valerie couldn't catch it.

Before he could finish, Jackie kicked him aside. Valerie would've said how it was unfair to hit an old man, but before he could hit the fence of his garden, the wizard corrected his path in mid-flight and floated in the air. Valerie realised that this must be Daolon Wong.

He growled at Jackie and said a series of words that Valerie didn't quite catch. From the lava pool blue fire flashed, and four red figures appeared. Valerie had to do a double take as she recognised some of the features of these men. They were the Dark Hand enforcers!

"You seem to have left a few bits out of your story," she shot to Jade, who shrugged.

Ratso looked around the scenery with a goofy grin. "Hey! Backyard barbeque!"

"What're we grillin'?" Chow smirked.

"Jackie Chan!" Hak Fu roared.

Finn scowled. "Let's tenderise 'em!"

Chaos ensued.

Valerie couldn't really tell much of what was happening. One moment Hak Fu was flying towards Jackie, only to be intercepted by Tohru. Then the other enforcers had thrown themselves at him with glowing weapons.

"And I thought you guys couldn't get any weirder!" Valerie murmured. Was life with the Chans EVER normal?

"Never mind that!" Jade tugged her arm frantically. "Look!"

She pointed and Valerie saw. Shendu was moving inside the fleshy egg. It had to be almost time for him to hatch. Whilst Valerie didn't want to see him murdered again, she also knew that him coming back was a bad thing.

"We've gotta stop this spell before the barbeque becomes a birthday party," the girl said.

Valerie nodded and followed her, even with Uncle shouting after them.

They quickly ran to the set up in the centre. They both hurriedly pulled out the posts from the ground and threw them away. They might not know a counted spell, but perhaps if they disrupted whatever energies were here, it might work. Valerie pulled out another post and threw it down, it splintered in two. She saw Jade about to step on the flaming symbols and –

"You are too late, child!" shouted a voice. They turned to see Daolon Wong hovering above them. He held a gnarled root in his hand and pointed it like a wand at Jade.

Without thinking, Valerie picked up half of the broken post and swung it like a baseball bat at Daolon Wong. It hit him square in the chest and sent him flying. "Back off!"

He recovered and shook his head. He fixed her with a glare and bared pointy teeth. Valerie then noticed that he had mismatched eyes. One green, one brown.

"Another helper?" he sneered. "You will suffer as well!"

He pointed his root at her, and Valerie placed herself between him and Jade protectively, even if her stomach was coiling around itself in fear. But before Wong could finish his spell, a flash of green passed over Valerie's head. It hit him in the face and diffused his spell. Valerie and Jade turned to find Uncle standing behind them, a puffer-fish in hand.

"Sorry," Uncle smirked. "Cannot hear you. You must have a frog in your throat."

Daolon Wong promptly then puked up a frog. Valerie would've laughed if it hadn't been so disgusting. The dark chi wizard didn't find it so funny. "Cheap tricks!"

And so began a battle of wills as blue flashed against green. Wizard fought wizard. Valerie honestly thought that she'd only ever see the like in movies, but now she was paralysed to do nothing but watch. Uncle and Wong chanted with equal intensity. It seemed to be a competition as to who could chant the loudest and fastest.

Valerie pulled on her jacket sleeve. She was reminded of the pressing issue and followed the girl back to their current mission. Once again Jade tried to stamp out the fiery letters, but Valerie stopped her at the last moment.

"Don't! Get the hose!" she said.

"Oh, yeah! Duh!" Jade grinned and went to get the garden instrument. She brought it back a moment later and began to douse everything in water.

Valerie grinned, until she saw Tohru and Hak Fu backing up towards them. She quickly pulled Jade out of the way. Tohru was doing his best to block the master martial artist, but the fight kept pushing him back until he was balancing precariously beside the lava pool.

Hak Fu leapt into the air dived with both fists stretched out for Tohru. "METEOR PUMMELS MOUNTAIN!"

Valerie had forgotten how annoying his little sayings were.

But at the last moment, Tohru dodged aside and allowed the red Hak Fu to dive straight into the lava. Valerie expected him to burst into flames, but was surprised when he simply vanished in a puff of blue smoke.

Tohru smirked to himself. "Hot bath?"

"Cold shower," Jade grinned and poured the hose into the lava. Steam rose up and the lava seemed to moan as it relinquished its precious heat. "It's working!"

"Jackie!" they heard Uncle shout.

Valerie spun in time to see Uncle trapped beneath coiling roots of a tree. Jackie cornered by the enforcers. And Daolon Wong levitating high into the air. A look of rage passed over his face as he glared at Jade's back. His eyes glowed bright yellow, and Valerie knew what it meant.

"Jade! Look out!" she lunged and pulled the girl away right as Tohru swept them both into his arms and jumped clear.

The heat-beam blast hit into the lava pit. In an instant it was back to boiling intensity. Light exploded from its base and wrapped itself around the gnarled branch and womb that it held. Warmth exploded out of it and made the February night feel like mid-July.

Valerie hissed as burning pain exploded out from her left hand. Tohru was so shocked that he promptly released her and allowed her to stumble away from him. Jade shouted her name but she couldn't hear her. She screeched and fell to her knees. She clutched her hand to chest, in an attempt to shield it from whatever was happening. Fear made her heart beat wildly. She looked down at her hand and saw that the scar was glowing yellow-white.

She looked up and saw that inside the womb, Shendu's blazing red eyes were open and staring right at her.

All movement ceased. Valerie could do nothing but stare into those eyes. She felt as small as an ant before an elephant.

And then the moment was over. Movement stirred in each of Shendu's muscles as if they now couldn't be kept still a moment longer. With one push of his legs and sweep of his arms, he burst out of the fleshy sack and stood. He roared and shook his head, the sound echoing across the night.

He turned to each of their stunned faces and grinned.

"Greetings, everyone!"


	2. Vengeance and Violence

**Author's Note: Feedback from last chapter was immense you guys! Thank you so much! So, here's another chapter for you!**

 **A thank you to the brilliant InsanityisReality for being my Beta. She's awesome.**

 **A WARNING: this chapter contains some graphic violence. I don't think it's enough to switch the rating to 'M', but I thought I'd warn people now.**

 **Please don't forget to Review!**

* * *

Vengeance and Violence

* * *

Shendu took a moment to take in a shuddering breath. He felt his soul swell and nearly burst as it was assaulted with mingled chi. He'd thought he'd sensed Valerie close by upon awakening in his new body. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted her, clutching her hand, staring at him. He saw her shiver as she too was made complete by their joining chi over their reawakened bond.

A stirring of emotions gathered inside him. Heat pooled through him at the thought of touching her soft skin and silky hair once more. His smile widened and he turned to fully look at her. Her hair had grown a little, now it fell just past her shoulders. It pleased him, he liked it long. Her face was a little softer as well, she didn't look so gaunt as she once did. It seemed life had been good to her in the months he'd spent in hell. And now she was here for his rebirth. Perfect.

He stretched out his neck and bunched his fists, rejoicing in the feel of solid flesh around him. "It is great to be back!"

"Yo, Shen- _dude_ ," said a voice that he recognised as Finn's. He spotted those idiot enforcers he'd had to work with. It seemed they'd managed to land themselves in eternal servitude, if their red skin and black eyes was any indication.

"Long time no… breathe?" Chow shrugged.

Ratso nodded, as stupid as ever. "Yeah, happy… uh, re-birthday!"

Shendu curled his lip at them and walked right past them, ignoring the fact that they even existed.

He knelt in front of Valerie. Her sparkling blue eyes never left his, even if her friends edged away from him when he drew near. He hooked a claw underneath her chin and tilted her face upwards so that she could look at only him. No longer was he stung by her touch, as their chi's already flowed together as one, he could feel that power in every molecule of his being. A smirk played at the corners of his mouth. His fingers brushed along her jaw to entangle themselves in her blonde hair. She shuddered at his touch and attempted to pull away. He let her, letting his claws slide through her hair. Oh, how he'd missed that feeling.

Memories of the last time they'd seen each other burned his mind. Her eyes soaked with grief and hurt; the words of anger they'd shared; her body flung through a vortex as he desperately tried to save her, save them all; the feeling of emptiness as he was cast back into the Netherworld once more. Each one caused his emotions to war inside of him, until he was confused for the appropriate response. But he pushed them aside to deal with later.

Instead, he spoke out to Daolon Wong, who's confused gaze he could feel on his back. "I must say, I didn't realise that you'd go so far as to bring my bride to welcome me back into the world. How considerate."

"B-Bride?" the dark wizard was clearly taken aback.

Before anyone could answer, a light appeared in the sky overhead. Shendu abandoned Valerie and stood. He followed the light as he and Daolon Wong stood together, watching it come closer. A yellow ball of fire in the shape of a twisting and writhing serpentine dragon soared towards them. The closer it came, the faster it descended. Shendu grinned.

"Yes! My prize approaches!" Daolon Wong gasped and levitated off the ground, arms outstretched. "The power of combustion–"

"Belongs to me!"

Shendu threw Wong aside and stepped into his place right as the fiery dragon closed in. He felt it burn through his skin and set his insides on fire. Heat flooded every part of his body, until he thought his scales would burst into flames. But the power settled deep within him, and he felt it recognise him and join with his in a permanent hold. _He_ was the one who had created the power. _He_ was the one who had taken it into himself. _He_ was its rightful master.

He threw his head back and roared his triumph.

"Mega bad day…" he heard the child whimper.

The grin was plastered over his face, unable to be beat down even if he wanted to. He turned and threw a fireball at the former dark hand enforcers. "Feel the burn!"

It was so satisfying to watch them vanish in a puff of blue smoke. What was more satisfying was Daolon Wong's bewildered and somewhat hurt look on his withered face.

"B-But… Brother of Darkness!" he spluttered. "We had an arrangement!"

"I may be a noble dragon, but I am also a Demon-Sorcerer," he said with mock sweetness. His victory over this hapless human was just too good to not relish in. "And not known for keeping promises."

Daolon Wong grit his teeth, in barely contained fury. With a rush of air, he surged towards Shendu, eyes bright with the promise of a heat-beam blast. Shendu fixed his eyes on Daolon Wong's, not on him specifically, but more for the glimmer of power he saw within.

The dark chi wizard shouted his war cry, "I still possess two talisman powers with which to destroy you–!"

But his anger was cut short when he found himself held still in the air and the yellow of his beam turned blue. Shendu grinned as he sucked the power out of Daolon Wong and absorbed it into his own gaze. Once again he felt the powers flow into his body and settle within him as they recognised him as their one true master.

"Levitation, heat-beam eyes!" he exclaimed. He put his hands on his hips and grinned condescendingly at Wong. "What thoughtful birthday presents."

With a flick of his wrist he cast Daolon Wong to the ground. The human cried pathetically as he fell. "No!"

Shendu's amusement dried up as quickly as it had come. Despite the foolish attempt, the wizard had still attacked him and branded himself an enemy. The demon dragon should've just killed him on mere principle, but the wizard might still prove useful. He knew where the other powers remained. And besides, Shendu had some realm of forgiveness on the account that he remembered that it was Wong that had wed Valerie to him in the alternate reality (even though _he_ might not remember that).

He jumped to Wong, landing in a crouch over the human on the floor. He bared his teeth, and the human cowered from his anger. "And you will tell me where to retrieve my other powers, after I have had the pleasure of quick frying Jackie–"

But he stopped and looked around, surprised to see that the garden was deserted. The Chans and Valerie had vanished. He growled viciously at the thought of them taking her from him. But then he remembered that she couldn't escape him now.

He looked down at his left hand, at the scar that ran across his palm. With a mere thought, he pulled on the great power that now resided in him, and felt the bond that now connected him to her. The line of the scar glowed white.

* * *

Section 13 was a chaotic mess as soldiers and agents stormed the corridors. They heaved huge weapons, tanks, even something that Jade had described as a vaporising cannon! Alarms blared and red lights flashed. Steel doors ten inches thick slid down over every entrance possible. The best locks and safeguards on earth were put in place. It was enough to keep out heavy duty missiles from any country in the world.

But Valerie stood still in a corner close to Uncle. She bit her nails, overwhelmed by nerves. Her palm burned, and she kept rubbing it on her jeans to try and get rid of the sensation. Uncle, Jade and Tohru were busy reading every book the old man had brought with him. He swore that there was a spell needed to stop Shendu, Valerie wasn't so sure.

Was Shendu super empowered now? He had been once they'd been bound together in the Demon-World reality. But then history had been rewritten. Did it still count? Valerie remembered the power that had flooded her system when Shendu had been resurrected. She could feel it in her very fingertips now, a constant buzz that made her feel energised like she'd eaten coffee grounds.

"Valerie," came the deep voice of Captain Black. Her thoughts distracted, she twisted to look at the secret agent. Jackie was beside him, dressed in body armour. Everyone was. Valerie leafed at the edges of her own fire-proof vest. Even Jade was wearing a bullet-proof Jacket.

"Captain Black, what's wrong?" she asked.

His eyes were deadly serious and never left hers. "I'm arranging for you to be snuck out of the bunker."

Valerie gaped in shock. "What?"

"You'll be escorted to a plane that will take you to Manhattan. I've also called in a few favours in Toronto. Agents are collecting your mother and will meet you at New York airport. You'll go into hiding somewhere remote and isolated. I don't even know the destination, only the pilot."

"Why are you doing this?"

Jackie stepped in. "It's your best chance. Shendu went to great lengths to get you last time. I won't let it happen again."

"It'll only be until the demon is dealt with," Black continued. "But I promise you, you and your mother will be kept safe."

"With all due respect, Captain," Valerie cut in, her eyes hardening. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Valerie–"

She held up a hand. "No. If there's even a chance I can be of some small help, I'm staying."

Captain Black and Jackie looked at each other, exasperated. They turned back to her, both opening their mouths to speak. Valerie braced herself for a long argument. But she needn't have bothered.

"Sir!" called out a man at the surveillance desk. "We have a bogey approaching from the perimeter!"

Black immediately abandoned his current conversation and ran to stand behind the man's chair. He stared at the television screens. Jackie and Valerie were only a few steps behind him. They watched the television screens that monitored the entrance to the elevator. Shendu landed in the alley outside the phone box, his massive frame engulfed most of the screen.

"A _big_ one…" the desk clerk said.

"This is it!" Black called out to his men, his voice rang with power and authority. Even Valerie and Jackie stood a little straighter. "If the demon breeches the outer defences, we make our stand here. Protect that Vault!"

The entire building shook. A crash like thunder echoed overhead. Everyone gasped.

Valerie's eyes flashed back to the screens. She watched Shendu blast his way with fire and magic into the building. The screen cut to static as the camera was destroyed. Her gaze flicked to another screen as she watched Shendu storm the base, attacked by gunfire and tank shells. His only response was to blanket them all in fire.

She trembled as the screams of burning men haunted her mind. Even from down here, she could here Shendu's roars that came steadily closer.

"Captain Black," Jackie said. "It may not be possible to defend the Vault."

" _Aiiiyyyaaa!"_ Uncle shouted. "Cannot find spell I am looking for! Uncle needs more time!"

"I will buy Uncle as much time as I can."

"Jackie! Wait!" Valerie grabbed his arm and stopped him. "I'm coming with you."

"No, you–"

"I'm coming with you!"

Her hard look didn't give him any room to argue. He merely nodded and lead the way. They ran together for the Vault. The animals inside were already agitated by the sounds of fighting when they arrived. It was all they could do to gather them all up without being bitten or clawed.

Jackie found a van for them and Valerie helped in loading all the animals onto it. They only paused when they heard another crash – far too close for comfort – and heard the rumbles and growls from just outside. Their speed increased as they quickly attempted to load up all the animals in time.

They came out onto a warzone. Shendu burst his way through a wall, seemingly huge in such a confined space. He seemed not to care at all that laser cannons and tanks and rocket launchers were aimed right at him. As he came through, Black gave the order: "Fire!"

A dozen rockets flew towards him. Shendu sucked in a breath and met them mid-flight with an inferno so hot, it reduced even the missiles to ash. Every soldier in the room froze as they stared. Even the hardened veterans paused as they considered what kind of monster they were dealing with.

Shendu grinned at them. "Someone say 'fire'?"

A high-pitched whine drowned out all noise. Valerie gasped as she watched one of the vaporiser cannons power up and launch at Shendu with a powerful beam. It hit him square in the chest and enveloped him in smoke. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, her stomach freezing as she stared. Was he dead? Had that blast hurt him? It was the same weapon that had destroyed the talismans – could it do the same to him? The thought surprisingly made her blood turn to ice.

But then the smoke cleared, and Shendu appeared, completely unhurt. With a wave of his hand, the vaporiser cannon lifted into the air and crumpled in on itself, as if a giant's hand had crushed it in its fist. It exploded and showered the soldiers in fire and twisted metal. A twitch of his finger and it was thrown across the room. At least Valerie now had her answer.

He bared his teeth at Captain Black. "Surrender the animals or –"

"You want them?" Jackie shouted up to the demon as he closed the doors to the truck. "Come and get them!"

Valerie hopped into the driver's seat. Before she closed the door, she looked over her shoulder at Shendu to make sure he'd gotten the message. Their eyes met for one agonising second. She slammed the door shut and hit the gas.

Shendu's roar hounded after her, a call of the hunt as he gave chase after them in earnest. Valerie couldn't let her frantically beating heart distort her mind. She shifted through the gears of the truck, heard the engine rev as she set it through its paces. The speed dial climbed up and up, but still she pushed the pedal to the floor. Shendu might not have super-speed, but she knew that he was still fast.

The tunnel ended and brought them into the alley outside the now ruined elevator. Valerie pulled on the steering wheel to get them around the corner and onto the road. The van almost swerved off its wheels, but held. Jackie held onto his belt in the passenger seat. They heard a roar behind them and looked out the mirrors to see Shendu soaring after them. People in the street screamed as he flew past them, and Valerie wondered if this would be splashed over the newspapers in the morning.

"Power of levitation, right," Jackie groaned next to her.

"Jackie," Valerie grit her teeth, eyes never leaving the road. "Do you trust me?"

"What? Why?" He suddenly sounded more afraid then before.

"Bring the tiger."

"What for?"

"Just do it! We have to shake him off out tail."

Jackie quickly went into the back and pulled the collar of the white tiger to drag her into the front cab. Valerie tried not to be unsettled by the deadly feline as it stood right next to her.

She looked over at Jackie, and tried to disguise how frightened she was. "No matter what happens, no matter which one of us gets them all, head as far as you can!"

"What are you–?"

Valerie quickly leant down, snatched up the tiger's paw and pressed it against the dashboard of the van. The tiger went completely still and its eyes began to glow. Valerie gasped. She knew she'd expected something, but it was still a shock to see it in action. The light from the tiger's eyes enveloped the entire van, causing Valerie to shield her eyes from the glare.

When she opened them again, she was alone. She looked behind her and saw that the only animal with her was a now grouchy looking tiger. With a gulp, she quickly closed the door that sealed her off from the room behind her. Her eyes darted to the side as she saw a completely identical van with Jackie as the driver next to her.

Her plan had worked! But now, she needed to take advantage of it. With a twist of her hands she turned the truck down the first corner she saw. The tires screeched as they tried to keep a hold of the road. She looked at her side-mirror. Shendu had paused at the corner, watching both trucks as one went straight and another veered off course.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Valerie chanted quietly to herself.

Shendu seemed to make up his mind, and shot straight towards her.

Valerie turned up another gear and slammed her foot on the gas.

She let him chase her for three miles. They made their way out of the city, the streets almost deserted with late night hour. They'd just reached the outskirts, when Valerie's eyes darted to her fuel gage. Her heart plummeted as she saw that the dial was almost in the red-zone.

"What?!" she screeched in panic. Just her luck to get the yang-truck that gulped down all its fuel too quickly!

She sped up as fast as she could go. She needed to put a little distance between herself and Shendu to reach a gas station. This ruse could only work so long as she could keep Shendu on her trail alone. If he caught her, he'd only get one half of a talisman power, not nine.

She pushed it until the dial was just about to kiss the bottom of the gage. A glance in her mirrors told her that Shendu was no longer right behind her. She saw signs for a gas station ahead, and made the turn off.

The tires screeched when she slammed on the brakes. She leapt out of the van, sprinted for the pump and all but slammed it home into the fuel opening in the side. Her foot tapped at a furious pace on the ground, panic made every nerve electrified. The numbers on the pump seemed to tick by too slowly as they counted up the litres. Guilt was only a side note in her mind as she knew she couldn't pay the owners of the station right now. She'd leave a note with Captain Black to arrange –

"Valerie."

She froze at the sound of that voice. As if her feet no longer belonged to her, they turned her around to face him. He stood at the other side of the station, arms folded across his chest, eyes unreadable.

Her voice was a cracked whisper. "H-How did you find me?"

"Your mark," he said. His voice unnerved her, for it gave her no indication of if he were angry or not. "It's how I found you at Section 13. It's how I followed you now. We are bound together. I could find you anywhere."

On instinct, she clutched her left hand tight to her chest, to shield it from his sight. She stepped back from him, but he followed her. Her back hit the truck and forced her to remain as he came ever closer. His demon shell shrank until he was more of a comfortable height, though he still towered over her at seven and a half feet tall. He came so close that their chests were only inches apart.

Valerie never took her eyes off of his. Her breath danced in her throat, her belly quivered. She whispered, "Don't do this…"

He tilted his head. "Do what?"

"All this bloodshed… all this chaos… don't do it, please."

"I will reclaim what is mine–"

"Damn it! Did you learn _NOTHING_ from last time?!" she burst with a shout. She couldn't contain it, her anger, grief, memories from a time that never happened refused to let her rest.

There was a heavy silence. Shendu's stare was cold and hard. Despite the fact that he was still unreadable, Valerie felt his own anger grow and she shied away from him. He put a claw on the truck above her head and leaned down. His muzzle came perilously close to her face, until she could feel his scalding hot breath flutter across her throat.

"Oh, I learned plenty." He growled out to her in a low voice. "I learned that I had to suffer an eternity in hell, only able to see you in dreams. You were left to see the sun, to breathe, to live. Eternal torment was what I expected to endure. This was the fate that awaited me."

Valerie couldn't stop the memory of the vision from the Book of Ages. It had shown her Shendu's future: writhing in grief and agony in the Netherworld. There would be no peace, no happiness for him. Even in death, he could not be granted the solitude of oblivion, but instead still suffered. It had hurt her then, and it hurt her now to think that he had endured that fate.

She turned her eyes back to look at him. Her fear was unmasked in her eyes, even though she defiantly asked, "Is that what this is, then? Vengeance? Are you going to teach me a lesson?"

"Oh no, Valerie, don't think so terribly of me…" he murmured to her softly, soothingly.

His other hand came up and gently stroked her face. She shivered at his gentle touch. Those deadly hooks on the end of his fingers glided across her skin without leaving so much as a line. She remembered his touch, reverent, yearning, delicate. His hand slipped behind her neck, and for a dreadful second she thought he might snap her neck whilst her guard was down. But instead, he pulled her off of her feet and into his arms. He crushed her against his chest, arms wrapped firmly around her. Muscle and heat lay beneath her touch, and Valerie found herself short of breath as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do.

Shendu buried his face in the curve of her neck, and she felt his teeth and tongue glide across her collarbone when he spoke. "I could never stay mad at you for long… You're my wife after all."

That snapped her back to reality.

"I don't think so." She shoved against him as hard as she could. A little electrical shock snapped out of her left hand and gave a little extra push to get her out of his arms. Shendu looked down at her, confused. But she didn't relent her glare. "Rewriting reality is a hell of a divorce!"

"Not to me. Not for this." He snatched up her left hand and displayed their matching scars. He threw it away just as quickly, his red eyes turned to slits. "After everything I've done for you, could you cast me aside so easily?"

Valerie glanced away, some part of her felt a need to explain herself. "It's not that, Shendu…"

"Then tell me, tell me what I need to do to make you mine."

For a moment she was speechless in the face of his earnestness. But before she could speak, they both heard a loud yowl come from within the truck. Shendu immediately straightened and all but ripped open the door of the truck. Valerie flinched back as he threw the door aside. He reached in and pulled out the tiger by the scruff of its neck.

The look he gave Valerie was so cold that she felt her stomach twist anxiously.

"You tricked me," he growled.

Her cheeks burned as she looked away from him, determined to not give in to him in any way. "What have you done to make me expect better of you?"

"You can try to hate me, Valerie!" he suddenly snarled. Valerie startled and spun to face him. He loomed over her, incensed. "You can try to push me away, try to blame me, try to tear yourself from my grasp all you want! It won't change anything!"

She couldn't respond quick enough before he turned his attention back to the tiger. His eyes glowed blue when he met the feline's stare. A beam of light connected the two, as if Shendu were sucking the very energy out of the tiger.

"What are you doing?" Valerie asked quickly, her chest pinched with dread. "You won't catch them now! They're probably miles and miles away!"

"You seem to forget that they have one half of a tiger…"

Valerie went pale as she suddenly realised the fatal flaw in her plan. The tiger was yin and yang, two halves of a whole – of course they would be linked! With a flash of light, Shendu finished absorbing all the power he could. He still held the tiger in his grip as he began to float upwards.

"Shendu! Wait!" Valerie called in a last attempt to detain him. When his eyes met hers, the only words that came out was soft pleading. "Please, don't hurt them."

His only reply before he vanished into the night, was: "I'll be back for you. Make no mistake of that."

* * *

Daolon Wong could only stare in absolute horror at his now destroyed chi-root. His warriors lay on the floor, mortal once more. He could feel the disenchantment that Uncle had placed on him. For the first time in many years, Wong felt… helpless.

Uncle came towards him, and it was all Wong could do to pull out every magical item in his satchel. Anything to offer him some kind of protection. But each one Uncle slapped away. Wong backed up, fear crept into his heart. But soon, he had nowhere left go.

He thought he'd need to resort to physical violence as a last resort, even though he knew his strength was meagre at best. But then the mortal, Captain Black, snatched up his wrists and handcuffed them. "Mr Wong, you're under arrest."

"You may be disenchanted," said Uncle. "But I believe you still know many ancient spells."

Wong frowned. What was his rival playing at? Whatever it was, Wong knew it wouldn't be in his best interests. So he spat, "I will tell you nothing!"

Uncle didn't say anything for a long moment. He leaned in, and gave Wong a look, as if he were a child pulling a tantrum that needed to be reasoned with.

"Do you want to have your revenge upon Shendu? Yes? Then… START TALKING TO UNCLE!" he screeched, it was all Captain Black could do to hold him back.

Daolon Wong grumbled to himself. He had to admit that his nemesis had a point. Shendu needed to be taught a lesson, and if this chi-wizard could accomplish that, then why not help and say that it was by his actions that the lizard was foiled? With that in mind, he nodded. Uncle and Captain Black seemed appeased and began to lead him and his minions away in handcuffs.

But as they walked, Daolon Wong took a notice of the soldier that escorted him. Impassive, and professional, he kept his eyes straight ahead and his posture ramrod straight. He didn't seem to be paying attention to Wong at all. So the dark-master's eyes travelled down to his belt. A set of keys dangled there like a taunt. And right beside it, nestled in a holster, was shiny fully loaded pistol.

Wong had vowed that Shendu would pay dearly for his betrayal… and he meant every word of it.

* * *

Valerie had already had to stop twice to refill the truck's fuel tank. She'd raced it practically all the way back into San Francisco city. Thankfully, her truck came with a GPS signal for all the other trucks at Section 13 – including the duplicate of her own one. So, she'd followed the signal at high speeds straight into the city, and was a little surprised when she saw that it was leading her to…

The zoo?

She frowned as she drove through smashed in gates and followed the black marks of tire tracks on the pavement. The animals hooted and screeched at her as she drove past them, already riled up by something. Valerie gulped and tried not to think of Jurassic Park as she drove through the suddenly unnerving zoo.

Finally, she found the truck… crashed in the pig enclosure. The front half was submerged in the mud and muck, the tires stuck. The back doors were wide open, and Valerie could already see that it was empty. A black scorch mark lay on the ground just in front.

Valerie jumped out of her own truck and desperately looked around. They couldn't have gotten far, could they? She had a hard time picturing Jackie herding a group of animals that large all on his own.

She heard a roar, and instantly spun on her heel towards the noise. She sprinted towards it, blindly, not thinking of the consequences. All she knew for certain was that if Shendu had discovered her friend, she needed to stop the worst from happening. If Jackie was killed, she knew she'd never live with herself.

Her sneakers almost slid on the pavement as she rounded the corner. But she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at what she found.

Shendu stood tall and hovering a few feet above the ground. Power seemed to radiate off of him, and Valerie knew that he'd reabsorbed all the talisman powers at last. Jackie and Jade were held suspended in the air, Shendu's claws right above them like a puppeteer pulling the strings. Valerie felt her heart seize at the murderous look Shendu shot at his captives.

Before she could do anything, a chant began… a drum beat… the sound of footsteps on pavement.

Valerie and Shendu turned to see a parade of figures clad in white approach the mighty dragon. It took her a moment to recognise them as Uncle, Tohru, Captain Black and all the agents of Section 13. They all looked like monks dressed for prayer. Six large drums were placed beat upon by agents, creating the rhythm like a heartbeat. And each agent, led by Uncle, took up the chant: " _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao… Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao_ …"

Shendu gasped, and Valerie snapped her head around to see that the dragon-demon had gone rigid, as still as stone. A look of fury, of fear, had come over his eyes. But he stared into nothing, as if he could see something no one else could.

But a moment later he shook his head and snapped out of the daydream with a gasp. "No! No! Not again!"

And then Valerie understood. This was a spell, something Shendu was familiar with, and somewhat fearful to repeat. Could Uncle have seriously found the spell she thought it was?

Either way, Shendu was desperate to stop the spell before its completion. He threw Jackie and Jade aside, both of them completely forgotten. He shot forth a torrent of flames towards Uncle, only for the fire to be blocked by a shield of energy.

Without any hesitation, Shendu reached out his hand and clenched his fingers. Instantly, the force-field around the agents shattered like glass. With another burst of power, Shendu sent it shooting towards them in an attempt to obliterate them. Uncle gasped and threw out his own magic to attempt to deflect it. But the magical energy clashed in the centre between them. Valerie could see already that Uncle was struggling to fight Shendu off. It would only be a matter of time before Shendu overpowered him and destroyed them all.

Behind the agents, the door to a black van opened, and a small, hunched figure stepped out…

Jackie seemed to notice the problem as soon as Valerie did, and immediately jumped into action. He leapt towards Shendu, and used the dragon's own body as a springboard to jump higher, and climb up his body until he was level with his eyes. Spinning in the air, Jackie drove his fist towards Shendu's face. It connected with the sound of crunching bone. Shendu stumbled back, momentarily dazed.

The figure climbed up to the top of the van and surveyed the scene, arm outstretched…

Shendu clambered back up and threw his arm out towards Jackie. It was all Jackie could do to leap out of the way, right as the ground beneath him collapsed in on itself. It would've crushed him had he still been there. He winced and held his hand as if it were injured and looked up at the dragon that loomed over him. Shendu held out his hand towards Jackie, prepared for the final blow.

Valerie gasped and sprinted towards the pair of them, her arms thrown about to try and catch their attention. "Shendu! Stop–"

 _BANG!_

Shendu froze, every muscle rigid, eyes wide.

Valerie fell to the floor with a scream.

Shendu's eyes darted towards her, and fear eclipsed everything inside him. All he could see was her lying on the floor, hair splayed out to cover her face. Her arm circled around her chest, hand on her shoulder. Her blood dribbled to the floor… The entire zoo had gone silent, even the agents had stopped beating their drums as they stared in horror.

"There you have it!" shouted a voice, and Shendu turned to see Daolon Wong stood atop the van behind the forced of Section 13. He still held the gun in his hand. "An eye for an eye, thieving lizard! You stole from me… I steal from you!"

Shendu's rage passed all description in that one moment. It started off small, a little dot in the great expanse of nothingness that was his shock. But that spark quickly ignited a flame, a fire, a bonfire, a torrent, an inferno. It grew and twisted inside him, it set every nerve, every thought, every shred of self-control on fire. It burned him with its ferocity, and he was lost to it.

A beastly roar exploded from his throat. He stood and thrust out his hand towards Daolon Wong. The wizard shrieked as he was suddenly pulled off of his feet and thrown through the air. The cry was cut short when Shendu enclosed his fist around the human's frail bones. If he had been of a sound mind, Shendu might have saved a long drawn out torture, to prove to Wong just how powerful he was, demonstrate his enhanced abilities, make him suffer a thousand times. But as it was, all he knew was the animalistic rage that demanded blood for blood spilt.

He lifted Wong over his head and slammed him down onto the ground. The pavement cracked and split open from the force – dark liquid splattered the stone. Wong went limp. But still Shendu didn't stop. Again and again he threw the human into the ground, snarling each time he used his great strength to make the blow that much harder. Still it wasn't enough.

Even with Wong lifeless and splattered about, Shendu held him at arm's length and encircled his free hand around his other half. Blood drenched his fingers in a matter of moments. He didn't care. He twisted his fists until he heard the crunch of whatever bones were left, and yanked them apart.

He heard the child cry out in horror, heard several agents double over and begin to vomit on the floor. He didn't care. He dropped the pieces of the body and quickly turned back to what truly mattered.

Though his claws were black with gore, he gently used them to brush aside Valerie's hair, to see her face. She blinked her eyes open and stared up at him. It took Shendu a moment to register that she had responded to him, that she wasn't dead. And with that realisation, he felt life and conscious thought slowly begin to return to him. Only then did he notice exactly the damage: her hand clutched her shoulder, where the blood was desperate to escape her white fingers.

Gently, he propped her up into his large hand. Without a word, he touched her arm with a free claw. Closing his eyes, he willed the power of the horse, the healer to flow down to his touch and seep into her. She winced and whimpered as something moved beneath her skin, until the small bullet was finally pushed out of her and fell to the ground with a soft ' _clink'_. A moment later, her flesh knitted itself back together and became whole once more.

He opened his eyes and found Valerie staring up at him. Blue met red. Such awe and confusion filled her gaze. In that moment he wanted to sweep her up and kiss away all her fears and questions, to just hold her. And for a precious moment, she put her bloodied fingers over his and squeezed.

Something struck him in the back. Shendu screeched as he felt the unmistakable zap of magic sear into his body. Although now he couldn't be harmed by good magic, the powerful blast still had a sting to it. He felt his body beginning to contort around itself. Panic flooded his mind, and he tried to fight it, but he couldn't stop himself from bending backwards, from his scales turning hard, his limbs joining together, his bones fixing into position.

With one last cry, he felt the magic completely take hold of him… and he knew no more.

* * *

It didn't even leave a scar.

Valerie couldn't stop her fingers from drifting over her shoulder where the bullet had pierced her. Honestly, she'd never felt so scared. Just like Shendu, she'd thought for a dreadful moment she was going to die. But then he'd helped her… he'd saved her… he'd healed her. Not even a scar was left to remind her what had happened.

Then was that why she felt so guilty seeing him now? Hung up as a statue, exactly the same as he had been when she'd first met him face-to-face. It turned out that Uncle had found the spell the warrior Lo Pei had used centuries ago – Daolon Wong had told him of it. It was how they'd managed to finally overcome Shendu and separate his powers from him in the form of the twelve talismans. He now adorned the vault of Section 13, sealed behind titanium bars. His talismans were back in their case as they had a year ago, paraded in front of him like a taunt.

After all the inspections and Captain Black had set the codes for the door, they'd all left. Valerie was the last to see. She stood in front of the dragon statue, arms folded around herself. She stared at that frozen snarling face, so familiar from so long ago. She was disappointed it had come to this.

Slowly, she reached through the bars and gently stroked her fingers down the side of the stone face. But got no response. He'd not said a word or given any indication of consciousness since being sealed by the spell. The others thought it was unconsciousness.

"Thank you," she whispered so quietly she almost couldn't hear it herself. "Thank you for what you did. And I'm… I'm sorry. I'm sorry this had to happen to you twice. I just… maybe, if you learned just a little bit, then maybe these things wouldn't have to happen to you… to us…"

She thought herself utterly foolish, speaking to him when he obviously couldn't hear her. Or perhaps it was because he couldn't hear her that she had the bravery to say those words. Either way, she turned away and hurried out of the vault.

But behind her, little did she know that Shendu had heard her. Every single word. His eyes glowed softly as she turned her back on him and walked away. The door was sealed behind her, and he was locked inside the cold room. Soon the lights were shut off and he was left in the dark, only the glow of his eyes pierced the gloom.

And from that dark abyss, his voice hissed out: "Soon, my love… soon."


	3. Questionable Shadows

Questionable Shadows

* * *

The next day had proven to be strenuous…

Convincing her mother that she was staying in San Francisco had not been pleasant. The woman was obsessed with showing Valerie off to any remarkable young man she could find up in Toronto. She'd even pulled the guilt card trick on Valerie, mournfully lamenting how she'd thought they'd been doing well together. Valerie had sat and listened to her mother in exasperated silence. She'd learned long ago that the best course of action when her mother got into one of these rants was to let her vent it all out and talk when she was done. A year ago, Valerie would've just shouted and slammed the phone down. But she meant what she said when she vowed that she'd try to make it work.

Eventually, she managed to get a word in to explain to her mother in simple terms that after Chinese New Year (which wasn't for another couple of days) she would be resuming her old job and seeing if her old University lecturers new of any jobs that had opened up in the historical community. As the saying went: it's not about what you know, but WHO you know.

When the conversation had turned to the prospect of securing a career, Valerie's mother immediately calmed, and agreed that that was the most logical thing to do. Despite her earlier failings as a mother, Stephanie Payne was nothing if not independent and encouraged her only daughter to be the same. She liked nothing more than to be secure in the knowledge that she'd grown her career herself, had worked hard for it, and only wanted the same for Valerie.

With that out of the way, the young woman set her sights on getting herself a place to live. Despite the Chans offering her a permanent place to stay, whether it be in a room above the shop or in a room in Section 13, Valerie wanted a place of her own. As much as she loved the Chans, she wanted a little space somewhere that she could completely unwind from everything all to herself. Of course, seeing as her last flat had been completely trashed, Captain Black obviously wanted to be in control of choosing the correct place for security purposes. Valerie couldn't argue with that.

In the end, he let her look at a flat that wasn't far from Uncle's store. It had two bedrooms, already furnished, was on the small side but was nice and affordable. As for costs, on behalf of Section 13, Captain Black offered to pay the first month of rent until Valerie could afford it. She didn't want to accept and take advantage of such generosity, but in all honesty, she knew she had no choice. Black had the place under surveillance within two hours of the agreement, with cameras watching both the outside of the building and in the hallway outside her door. Uncle had also chipped in by good-chi-proofing the whole place.

All that was left, was a car. With the last of her money in her bank account, Valerie bought a cheap piece of junk. A little yellow Ford with only two doors and one that made an awful clank-sound when it went into second gear. But Valerie didn't mind. It was another piece of independence for the young woman. And she remembered how badly she could've used one all the times she'd been on adventures a year ago.

So, now she walked around Section 13, Jade at her side, coffee mug in hand. It was evening and Valerie would now only need to wait for the last pieces to fall into place before she could go home to her new flat. Jade was animatedly telling her again about all her adventures, particularly, the Monkey King. Valerie just listened with a fond smile. Like her mother, it was better to let Jade talk and talk until she could talk no more.

They passed a rec-room where the agents took their breaks. Valerie heard the last half of a news-report from a radio inside. Terrible thunder storms and great wave surges had erupted in the middle of the Pacific Ocean overnight. Reports were coming in that it could've been the worst in recent memory, and steadily growing stronger. Experts were blaming climate change or even the magnetic poles moving slightly as the cause. But the reporters were desperately urging people not to travel oversea towards Asia and Australia until the storms cleared.

Valerie frowned. Storms like that didn't just appear out of nowhere. It was all very strange.

Least of all, was her feelings for Shendu. She was still baffled by him. He had an opportunity to escape before being turned to stone. Valerie hadn't really been dead, sure it had hurt like hell, but it hadn't life threatening. But Shendu still took the time to try and save her. She'd looked into his eyes and seen the fear, the panic, the desperation to try and avert what was happening in any way possible. It made her feel very… odd.

She was so confused. She was touched by his gentleness. Shocked that he stayed for her. Sad that he was put through this imprisonment again. Angry that he'd let his greed and darker self, take hold of him and drive him to evil acts. As if he'd learned nothing from before. But Valerie had learned her lesson. The greatest evil was the one that allowed evil to exist. She wouldn't fall for the same trick again. No matter what, she wouldn't stand by and let Shendu get away with it.

Over the course of the day, she'd found herself touching the arm where she'd been shot. Her fingers half expected to find stitches, a healing wound, but instead found only smooth skin. Was it normal to be bothered by the fact that she _didn't_ have a scar? And it was all because of Shendu.

She only hoped that this time he would learn something…

* * *

He waited until the sun had set. He'd felt the unrest in the world along a sixth sense that only children of magic could understand. It had puzzled him. It was as if all the chaotic forces were crashing together, fighting and warring for domination. He'd never felt it's like.

But this did leave him a grand opportunity to strike. Those who might have been keeping their eyes on him were more than likely distracted by the commotion. So he took it.

Shendu reached into the void with his mind. That darkness of eternal black that existed just on the fringes of reality. He reached into it and grasped hold of the power inside it. With it in hand, he attempted to pull the shadows into the world.

It was so simple. The humans had been stupid enough to leave his Talismans right in front of him. He supposed that it was their idea of a joke, a taunt. But now they would learn the error of their ways. All he needed was someone to push just one talisman into his statue body, and he would be free to claim the others.

But the shadows seemed to resist. They just on the fringes. He could sense them, pushing against the glass, desperate to be let in. But something was holding them back. They couldn't materialise as easily as before. Shendu sensed it was the chi-spells that the Wizard had placed in order to stop him from doing just this. Yet it would seem that the old man had forgotten Shendu's special disposition.

In order to combat the good-chi spells that lined every inch of his cell, Shendu attempted to break them. He pulled on the bond that flowed between himself and Valerie. Though he was already empowered by being completed, as a statue some of his power remained redundant. He pulled on her, extracting all that he could to push against the magical boundaries that resided all around him. Good Chi did not harm him any longer, he could harness it himself if he wanted to. But a spell still needed a counter spell. Shendu decided to simply batter it aside with full force.

It broke. A feeling like the shattering of glass rippled across his mind as he broke the elder Chan's spell. He felt the shards flicker and disappear from existence, and the room was left emptier than before. If he could have, he would've grinned.

With renewed vigour, he pulled the Shadowkhan into the vault.

* * *

"So then I say to the head of Section 1, 'Why the long face? Wasn't like we had a demon outbreak this time'."

Several agents chuckled at Captain Black's story, Jackie included. Valerie felt her lips twitch upwards. She flicked her hair behind her shoulder. Jade sat on the table beside her, kicking her legs out as she listened.

Captain Black smirked into his coffee cup. "Needless to say the Mayor didn't find my dry wit very funny. Still haven't forgiven that bastard for attempting to reassign my case."

Valerie shared a look with Jackie. To simply be here and swap stories and smile.

She wobbled. Her energy levels suddenly felt depleted. Her smile slowly vanished and she blinked, confused. That had been weird. Low sugar levels, perhaps? Maybe she was more tired than she thought?

No, she felt it again. Her energy levels dropped for a second and she felt woozy. This time, she staggered. Jade and Jackie looked over at their friend sharply. Valerie held a hand to her head to stop the room spinning. Her body quickly stabilised and she straightened.

"Val?" Jade asked, worried.

Valerie didn't speak for a moment. She concentrated on the strange feeling. Others in the room were staring at her now, but she ignored them. It felt like something was tapping along a string that connected itself to her heart, to the centre of her being. It felt vaguely familiar, and she could've sworn she felt something on the other end. Her eyes widened.

"We have to get to the vault!" she looked up at Jackie, her face pale.

"What?" he blinked in surprise. "What are you – Valerie!"

She was already running out of the room and down the corridor. Footsteps sounded behind her as Jackie and the others followed her closely. When she reached the vault door, she practically punched the sequence of numbers that would release the lock. Even after all this time, Black had still not changed his passwords.

The all rushed into the vault, and stopped.

Shadowkhan filled the room. The black ninjas paused and turned to look at the intruders. One even froze with the lid to the canister containing the talismans high in the air. It made him look like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar. Across the room, Shendu's eyes glowed an ominous red.

"Get them!" the serpentine voice hissed.

The shadowkhan leapt at the intruders. Valerie stepped back, and attempted to shield herself, but the Shadowkhan ignored her. Instead, they focused their attacks on Jackie and the agents. It perplexed her that they would go for the others when she was out in front, but then reminded herself that Shendu supposedly still cared for her. Speaking of the demon statue, she cast a murderous glare at him.

Her eyes widened when she beheld one Shadowkhan still holding the canister. He held it above his head and threw it down onto the ground. It shattered, and Valerie had to jump in order to avoid the shards of deadly glass that spun across the ground. The talismans spilled onto the floor.

The shadowkhan bent down to pick them up. But Valerie was faster.

She dove and slid across the ground. She felt the glass tear at her top and nick her flesh but she grit her teeth against it. As much as she could, she attempted to protect the Talismans. She might care about what happened to Shendu, whether he lived or died, but she wouldn't let this happen. The fact that he was trying to forcibly break himself out of prison, and show hostility in the process, only proved that he hadn't changed a bit. And this angered Valerie more then she would care to admit.

She scooped most of the talismans protectively against her chest and kicked out from the shadowkhan. It wouldn't let her go, however, and dragged her back as it reached for the talismans in her possession. She snarled and tried to fight back against it.

Shendu's voice snarled out at her from the statue. "Do not fight me!"

"You leave me no choice!" she shot back. "I won't let you hurt people!"

"I will not be imprisoned again!"

The Shadowkhan lunged for her. Its ice-cold blue hands snatched out one talisman. Valerie saw the rat symbol. With renewed panic, she released all the other talismans and grabbed the rock back with both hands. The Shadowkhan attempted to wrestle it from her grasp, but she held on. A tug of war erupted between them.

"You are mine!" Shendu snapped angrily. "You must ally with me."

"I won't watch you destroy the world again, Shendu!"

"You are my wife!"

She shot the statue a glare over her shoulder. "We never got married in this universe!"

"You still said the vows."

"I was brainwashed!"

"I am your husband, Valerie. We are supposed to be a united front!"

"This is not the time for a marital dispute!"

Her yell was accompanied by a rush of anger and frustration. She felt it buzz through her and zip down her arm with a surge of heat. An electrical shock fizzed over the scar on her left palm. It exploded out of her with a small _'_ _bang'._ The Shadowkhan was flung back and melted away into nothingness.

Valerie would've marvelled at what had somehow happened, but she wasn't given the chance. As soon as the one Shadowkhan had been defeated, another took its place and went for her again.

She and the Shadowkhan were so engrossed on attempting to pull the talisman from the other that they didn't even notice the little figure run right up to them.

"Nobody want this? Okay then! Thank you!"

Jade plucked the talisman out of both of their hands and quickly ran back across the vault. Valerie and the Shadowkhan looked bewildered after the child. The ninja was the first to react and leapt after the child. Valerie tried to snatch hold of its pyjamas, but her fingers closed around air.

"Run Jade!" she shouted.

The girl dived beneath her uncle's legs and twisted around the back of Captain Black. Every Shadowkhan attempted to break off from their current fight and lunge for her. The girl screamed when one got too close.

Valerie's foot knocked against something on the ground. Her eyes snapped down to find the dragon talisman glinting up at her. She hesitated for only a moment. Jade's life was at stake, she had no room for old displeasures now. She scooped up the talisman along with several others.

"Jackie!" she shouted and threw him the Ox. The man caught it deftly in his palm, and attacked back at the Shadowkhan with renewed enthusiasm. She threw the Pig to Captain Black, and he quickly blasted his opponent.

Valerie held the Dragon, the Horse and the Rooster. A random selection, but those were the ones she had picked up in her blind panic. In a millisecond, she felt something strange happen to her. Just like when she'd taken the Talismans to fight Hsi Wu, Valerie felt the oddest sensation that the Talismans were inside her. She felt them prod at her mind, and she felt them read her. This time, instead of a feeling of satisfaction, she got the impression that the Talismans _rejoiced_ to be back with her. It was as if she now had something she lacked earlier, and they now accepted her with full force.

Their power flooded her veins. In an instant, she felt all her cuts from the glass heal. Heat swam through her body, and her feet felt lighter than air. It was an intoxicating experience, and she opened herself to it. Fire danced along her fingertips, her feet lifted an inch off of the ground.

"Valerie!" Shendu shouted angrily.

The woman opened her eyes and held out the Rooster. The shadowkhan that followed Jade was lifted into the air and dangled helplessly. Valerie lifted the Dragon and blasted the shadow-ninja out of existence.

The fight just got a whole lot fairer.

Shendu snarled. "So be it! Now let it be war upon you all!"

A dozen more Shadowkhan arose from the floor. Valerie's eyes widened. The fight just got a whole lot more complicated. The Shadowkhan bent their knees and braced themselves to jump high into their air, their weapons at the ready –

The floor shook, a rumble roared in their ears, the very foundations of the base rained dust onto the fighting occupants. Valerie gasped and everyone wobbled and struggled to stay on their feet. Her grip on the talismans vanished and they cluttered to the floor. She looked up, afraid that the ceiling might cave in on them at any moment. Was it an earthquake?

Even Shendu seemed speechless. He could feel the supernatural air rise as the quake erupted. It was like a flare exploding open in the darkness, a bright flash so intense that for a moment it was blinding. What shocked him more, was that the Shadowkhan seemed to have felt it too, and promptly melted away just as effectively as if Uncle had been there with a banishing spell.

Just as quickly as it had come, the tremor ceased. Everything was left normal as if it had never happened. But the Shadowkhan didn't return. The one question that dominated Shendu's mind, as well as the minds of all those gathered, was: what the hell just happened?

* * *

Within the next hour, all the damage had been cleared and fixed. The Shadowkhan didn't come back, and Shendu seemed to be in another of his silent sulking moods. Uncle came over – grumbling the entire way about late nights – and chi-proofed the vault with the strongest and most powerful chi spells he possessed. Everyone was desperate to make sure that this did not happen again.

Needless to say, though, that everyone was still wondering what exactly had happened in the first place.

"How did Shendu even get the Shadowkhan here?" Black asked angrily as Valerie and the others stood inside his office.

Uncle tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Broke my spell. Powerful magic involved…"

Valerie remained silent. She contemplated telling them. She didn't want to keep secrets anymore, but was ultimately beaten to the opportunity.

"What I wanna know," Jade muttered moodily, "is how does he even control the Shadowkhan anyway? I mean, the other demons didn't seem to have them."

Black contemplated for a moment. "Maybe it's something unique to Shendu, like with his talismans?"

"No. This magic has different feel to it." Uncle shook his head.

"What made the Shadowkhan vanish?" Valerie asked, trying to redirect the conversation back to what was important.

Jackie began to pace, his brows furrowed from deep thought. "It must have had something to do with the earthquake."

"Don't know why they'd get all fussed over a little rumble." Black sat in his chair and turned back to his computer. They all crowded around him as he brought up a satellite map of the city. "According to our scanners, the tremor happened right along the San Andreas Fault. We've overheard several reports of property damage and a few injuries via the police-scanner. But nothing too serious. That's not what's weird."

Valerie gave him an incredulous look. "You mean there's more?"

"Yes. We're receiving reports from around the world. Apparently there were other small tremors that happened at the exact same time. All in specific locations, precisely where the tectonic plates join."

"Were the plates shifting?" Valerie asked.

Jackie shook his head. "Would have seen more damage if it were that major."

"Yeah," Jade nodded. "We learned at school that several of the mass extinctions were caused by those."

"Was not geography!" Uncle snapped. "Was Dark Chi!"

"Shendu?"

"No…" he murmured, unsure. "Was something else…"

"Like what?"

"Don't know. Must find Tohru! Must do research! Will find the source!"

Uncle marched out of the office, determined to make good on his promise. Valerie watched him go. She couldn't help but feel that this whole situation was strange… What on earth was going on?

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone!**

 **So, as you can see, this story will be taking on quite a few AU elements. A lot more then there was in the first one. Because of this, certain arcs will come before others and some things might get switched around. I hope you all bear with me for what I plan to do with this. Trust me, it all makes sense in my head!**

 **A big thank you to InsanityisReality for being my Beta!**

 **And also, please go check out the TV-Tropes page for this series. Its incredibly detailed and loads of fun! A big thanks to Olmo for making that happen.**

 **Remember: please Review!**


	4. The Seeds of the Future

**A/N: Huge thank you to InsanityisReality for being my Beta!**

* * *

The Seeds of the Future

* * *

Even as a statue, Shendu had to sometimes sleep – or what he technically called 'sleep'. Eventually his mind would exhaust itself and need time to recharge. And it was in this state that he dreamed… and that had not happened in a while.

 _He stood in his real body, stone entrapment completely gone. It was both a relief and a give-away to the fact that this was indeed a dream. He was surrounded in nothing but ghostly blackness. There was no floor, but he felt ground. There was no air, but he breathed. There was no light, but he could see._

 _"_ _Shendu?" he heard a voice._

 _He turned and saw Valerie stood twenty feet away. She had only a silken night-dress to cover her modesty, and Shendu found his body as taught as a bow string. He struggled to swallow. He took a step towards her, but she still seemed the same distance away._

 _"_ _Even in dreams, you are out of reach," he muttered bitterly._

 _Valerie looked away. "You're angry with me. Do you want me to apologise?"_

 _Seeing as it was a dream, Shendu shrugged and said the first thing that came to mind. "I want you."_

 _"_ _Do you know what you did to me?"_

 _Shendu cocked his head. He hadn't expected that. Weren't his dreams supposed to pander to his every desire? This was his own mind after all._

 _Suddenly, Valerie was in front of him, and her hand touched his arm. Instantly, Shendu roared as every muscle in his body seized with pain. Valerie screamed with him. As they slumped, her blue eyes met his red ones and her voice came out in a hoarse, panicked choke. "Dreams aren't real!"_

 _His mind's eye was assaulted with images that flashed too fast for him to see clearly. Blood, storm clouds rumbling, a dark shadow over a cold world. A gale of wind, a mournful call. A mountain, drop of water, a stone chalice. A sword. A scream. A flash of lightning._

Shendu jolted awake as thunder overhead shook the Section 13 bunker. With it, it took away the last remnants of his dream. He didn't know what had brought that on suddenly. Perhaps it was the strangeness of the world's current state that had him so at odds. The storms that were sweeping across the Pacific were branching out and becoming more widespread. According to the news, there were warnings of hurricanes and Earthquakes in the region, but it was over uninhabited areas.

From his cell, Shendu could feel the imbalance of chi. Not to mention that he heard the news broadcast from the television in the security office just outside the vault. He was extremely puzzled by these events. Not in all his thousand years of being on this earth had he remembered such strange phenomenon as this?

Well, there was one time it had happened, but that had been eons ago. It couldn't be what he thought… it was impossible… could it?

* * *

Yet despite this rather strange news, one household in San Francisco were still getting ready to celebrate Chinese New Year with style.

Valerie was looking forward to the celebrations, seeing as last year she had been too preoccupied to celebrate it, what with being kidnapped by a dragon and all. But this time, she wanted everything to go perfectly. Jade was so excited about the decorations, the parades, the dancing, and most of all the candy. Val was just as excited, if only because the girl's hyperactive excitement was infectious.

Which was why she was incredibly annoyed when she was pulled away from the upcoming festivities… to go to a _junkyard!_

Uncle had pulled her and Jackie out to the desolate car-graveyard when he'd said that he'd made a breakthrough in finding the disturbance of the Dark Chi that had so perplexed them around the time of the earthquake. Valerie almost stamped her feet so that they could hear how unimpressed she was with this little outing. The cars were piled ten feet high all around them, all in various states of rust and crushed. It gave the effect that they were walking through a maze.

"We should be home preparing to celebrate Chinese New Year, not running around on a wild goose-chase." whined Jackie, clearly as annoyed by this as Valerie was. Uncle was in front scanning ahead of them with…

"Uncle's new chi-detector," the old man said with pride, "registers disturbing levels of Dark Chi…"

Valerie yawned. Add to her irritation that she was tired from a lack of sleep, and she was absolutely _peachy_. "So, he has a _dark chi_ detector? Fantastic."

Jackie seemed to agree. "Uncle, you jerry-rigged an old metal detector."

"With a _pufferfish_ and _duct-tape_."

"Is it just me?" said a voice, and all the adults looked up to see a familiar child jumping on the hoods of the cars to reach them. "Or is this place a dump?"

"Should we even bother leaving you with a babysitter anymore?" Valerie asked.

Jade grinned. "Nope."

"Jade!" Jackie said, exasperated. "What are you doing here?"

"Spending Chinese New Year with my loved ones."

An insistent beeping came out of the metal-detector, but Valerie rolled her eyes. Of course it would beep, they were surrounded by metal! Yet Uncle seemed to take it seriously, as he whispered "Dark Chi!"

A light flashed behind them. The group looked up and heard the faint sounds of sparks on metal. They ran for the disturbance, Valerie holding Jade back when the child clearly wanted to cut to the front of the group. She shot the girl a look, and Jade merely slumped, disappointed.

A woman crouched on top of a car, clad in black bullet-proof gear, a black cap covered her head and reflected sunglasses across her face. She looked to be in her twenties, from what Valerie could tell when she looked up. The curve of her mouth seemed to be familiar, but Valerie couldn't place where she'd seen her before. The woman jumped down in front of them, and appeared a little distressed as she looked from Jackie to Uncle.

"You're not supposed to be here!" she glanced at her watch. "I must be running late."

"For what? Halloween?" Jade asked as she cocked her head at the stranger.

As if she hadn't been seemingly concerned before, the stranger appeared panicked when she beheld the small girl. She marched up to Jackie frantically. "Look, Jade has to get out of here – now!"

"Hey! How do you know my name?"

"Who are you and what do you want with Jade?" Jackie demanded.

"Not me," the woman pointed to the pile of cars behind them. "Him!"

The spun around and saw a figure, silhouetted by the sun behind them, step up over them. Valerie couldn't make out any details, other than the fact that it appeared to be humanoid with two arms and legs. The shadowed figure let out a roar, right as Uncle's chi-detector began to bleep furiously.

"Dark chi!" Uncle gasped.

"Look out!" the woman stepped in front of Jade and pointed something at the shadowed figure. A blast of fire appeared from her hand and shot towards the shadow. It hit him right in the chest and knocked him back behind the wall of crushed cars.

"Whoa!" Jackie and Jade whispered.

"Dark magic?" Uncle asked.

"It doesn't matter!" Valerie said. "We need to get out of here."

And for the first time the woman looked at Valerie. There was a moment of shock and stillness that hung over them. Then the woman's lips twisted into a snarl, and her brows came down to disappear behind her glasses.

"You!" she growled.

Valerie blinked. "Me?"

The woman snatched up a gun from her belt and pointed it straight for Valerie's head. A look of cold determination masked her features. Jade and Valerie screamed, right as Jackie leapt for Valerie and tackled her to the ground.

"Valerie!" he shouted.

The gun fired with a loud _BANG!_ They hit the ground and went rolling. Valerie felt the wind burst out of her lungs and lay there for a moment, desperate to remember to breathe. Once she'd recovered, she and Jackie crawled to their feet, when they realised that a second shot had not come after them. They looked around, confused, and froze.

Uncle stood alone. Both Jade and the woman were gone.

"Jade!" Jackie screeched out in full panic.

"Uncle!" Valerie demanded. "You were right here! What happened?"

"Don't know!" Uncle gasped. "Stranger used good magic… and disappeared."

"Good or bad, she kidnapped Jade," Jackie muttered and looked to the floor where a set of footprints lead out of the Junkyard.

The old man was the first to respond. "Uncle will find source of Dark Chi – you find Jade!"

"I'm coming with you," Valerie said and grabbed hold of Jackie's sleeve. "Not only did that woman take Jade, she tried to shoot me. I want payback for both of those."

Jackie nodded and the pair of them set off at a run.

* * *

"I think I'm gonna hurl!" Jade moaned as the world bounced around her under the arm of the strange woman carrying her.

At least the woman was good enough to stop when they came to a road and put her down. That stern face tried to speak comfortingly. "We have to keep moving Jade, trust me!"

"Why should I?" she demanded.

"Didn't Jackie always say 'trust yourself'? Along with: don't trust strangers, never chew with your mouth open and never spit into the wind. Duh."

"Yeah but – hey!" Jade stopped herself and stared. The pieces clicked into place as she stared open-mouthed at the woman in front of her. "you're… me?"

She smiled and reached up to pull off her hair and sunglasses. Honey eyes, a heart-shaped face and short jet black hair were revealed. All of which looked so familiar, like looking into a mirror… only a mirror that was ten or more years older.

"Took you long enough," older-Jade said.

Jade gaped, attempting to figure out what all of this meant. "If you're me… then you must be… from the future!"

"Double bonus score."

"But how? Why?"

"I'll give you the download on the way."

And with that, the her-from-the-future stood and looked out as a cab came racing down the road. She put two fingers in her mouth and gave out a piercing whistle. The cab stopped right in front of them like an obedient dog. Before Jade could geek-out over learning to whistle like that at some point in the future, the older-her grabbed her arm and pulled her into the cab and they were speeding off.

"Wait a minute!" Jade exclaimed as she remembered. "If you're me, then why did you try to shoot Val?"

"That's a lot to explain." Future-Jade said coldly.

"Try me."

"Later."

Jade growled and slunk into her seat. Great. Now she'd become boring and untrustworthy in the future. After a while, she glumly asked anything to fill the silence. "Do they have time machines in the future?"

"How old do I look?" the future her snorted. "I used one of Uncle's spells."

"So, why am I wearing that?" she pointed to the all-black outfit.

"Section 13 standard wear."

In that instant, Jade forgot everything else as excitement completely overtook her. "I grow up to be a Section 13 agent?!"

"Boss. You take–" she stopped herself and switched tenses. "I took over for Captain Black after he was transferred to the east coast to start up Section 14."

"Me? The big cheese at Section 13? We rock!" Then she sobered a little. "So why didn't you just tell everyone who you were?"

"Didn't have time to convince them," future-Jade said, her voice becoming distant. "Too busy trying to save the future."

"From what?"

 _BANG!_

Something smashed into the top of the cab. It made the driver freak out and the car began to slide before he could regain control. Future-Jade reached across to her younger version and pulled her back. Jade looked up.

Claws sank into the metal of the cab and tore it open like a can of sardines. The screech of metal was horrible on their ears. Jade gasped when she beheld the face of what could only be described as a human-dragon. A flat, human looking face, with no nose or ears, covered in green scales and a row of horns sprouted from his head. Red human eyes glared down at the pair even he grinned to show off his sharp fangs.

"Him!" Future-Jade shouted. "Shendu's son!"

Jade thought her stomach was about to turn as she stared up in horror at the sudden gravity of the situation.

As if sensing her fear, the young dragon smirked further. "Please, call me Drago."

* * *

"I… am… never… running… again!" Valerie whispered as she struggled to breathe.

"Just hold on!" Jackie called back to her.

She did her best. She would never have guessed that racing an ice-cream van could be so rough. Already, she'd had to dodge falling crates of ice-creams when they'd gone over potholes too fast. But Jackie was hounding the driver to catch up to the cab where Jade and the other woman had gone. The van's limited speed was showing as the cab got further and further away from them. Strangely enough they were heading towards the industrial estate close to the bridge. Why there?

Valerie was caught completely off guard when the van came to a sudden stop. She shrieked as she was thrown to the ground. Every box and container fell all around her. The tires screeched and the van swerved slightly. When everything finally became still again, Valerie thought she was going to be sick.

"Valerie! Come on!" she heard Jackie say.

She groaned and shakily stood. "Did you pay for your dozen ice-creams?"

They left the van and it sped away down the road, probably eager to get away from their drama. Valerie wondered why Jackie had stopped them here, when her eyes caught sight of it.

The cab they'd been following, or, what was left of it. The vehicle was on its side, crushed and metal torn apart. It was also on fire. The stench of burning rubber nearly made the young woman gag. From what they could see into the car, there wasn't any sign of dead and burning bodies. So that meant that they got out at least.

"They weren't that far ahead of us," Valerie said to Jackie. "They can't be far."

Jackie nodded, already crouched on the ground. Valerie stepped up beside him, and saw what had gotten his attention. A footprint. But it was strange. Val frowned as she narrowed her eyes, sure they were deceiving her. The foot had a pad instead of a foot, like someone was running around on tip-toe, but instead of toes… they had what looked to be… claws?

"The tracks lead over here," Jackie said and was off towards a large warehouse across the street. Valerie followed him, but her eyes remained on the ground, unable to tear away from the strange tracks. Why did she have such a feeling of dread growing in her stomach?

They approached the door and heard a deep voice reverberate from within, with an all-too-familiar double-vocal sound to the words. "Well, Jade? We played follow-the-leader into the past. So why not hide-and-seek?"

Valerie then suddenly realised where she had seen such tracks before. They looked like footprints Shendu might make!

She reached for her friend as he stepped inside the doors of the factory. "Jackie! I think the–"

"Jade?" he called.

Valerie looked up, just as they came into sight of a new figure.

Dressed in what looked like a blue martial arts training outfit, stood a man-lizard. That was the only way Valerie could describe him. He was tall, just over six feet. There wasn't a flash of skin or hair on him. Instead, he was covered in green scales. A tail sprouted from his rear, and his hands and toes had claws and talons. Small horns decorated his head, and when he turned to face them, his jaw was square and firm, his eyes human but red in colour.

He smirked, and showed his pointed fangs in his mouth. "Ah. Mr Jackie Chan–"

The dragon-boy stopped and stared. His gaze went past Jackie and focused right onto Valerie. Valerie felt her pulse quicken, and for some reason that sense of dread intensified to painful levels inside of her. The teenager-dragon seemed to have a look of shock, but also recognition, as if they were friends who never expected to see one another here. Valerie could've sworn she saw a flash of pain in those red eyes, but it was gone when a small smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

"Hey… Mom."

"MOM?!" three voices shrieked.

Jackie and Jade threw Valerie suspicious looks. Once she'd gotten over her initial gaping shock, she glared right back at them. "Excuse me! Does it look like my womb pushed _that_ out recently?!"

"Look," Jackie shook his head, as if to rid himself of disturbing mental images, and turned back to the boy-dragon. "Whoever you are, Jade has nothing to do with this."

Jade and the strange woman answered in unison. "Talk later!"

The lizard-man's smile turned to a malicious sneer when he was reminded that Jackie was in the room. "Chan. My _dad_ sends his best."

Valerie felt her blood run cold.

Jackie, however, didn't seem to get it. "Your father? Who is your father?"

In response, the dragon opened his mouth, and spewed forth a jet of flame. Valerie screamed and dropped to the floor, the flames grazing just above her head. Jackie yelped and run and hopped to avoid the flames that followed him.

"NevermindIhaveaprettygoodidea-thankyou!" he shouted in a mad rush of words.

To escape the fiery blaze, Jackie leapt up onto a stack of boxes of fireworks and grabbed hold of the hanging posters suspended from the ceiling. Valerie saw when the dragon looked exactly at what he was aiming for, saw the evil smile creep across his face. She shouted and attempted to run and tackle him, but he dodged her and pushed her away. It wasn't forceful or even hurtful, it just sent her along her path where she crashed into Jade and the stranger.

"There's nothing more festive than fireworks!" he sneered and threw a fireball at the stack of rockets and explosives.

"No!" Jade and the stranger cried together.

"Bad day!" Valerie muttered Jackie's usual mantra to herself as she looked around for any solution. And then she spotted it. The emergency fire-hose connected to the water-main in the corner. She ran towards it, even as she crossed paths with the lizard-man who walked straight out of the building.

"Happy New Year, everyone!" he laughed over his shoulder and disappeared into the night.

Valerie ignored him as she wrenched the tap on the pipe to the open position. It took all of her strength to keep the pipe in place as water came shooting out of the end. It was so strong it threatened to sweep her off her feet. With gritted teeth, she directed the blast towards the fire, where sparks and crackles could already be heard from the fireworks within. She heard a hiss, and saw the flames begin to die.

She saw the stranger run and jump into a forklift and quickly drove it over. "Jackie! Jump!" she shouted.

Jackie let go of his ripping poster, and landed on the prong of the forklift. He bounced and came stumbling to the floor. Instantly he ran over to Valerie and helped her turn off the pipe whilst wrestling for control of the hose. They ran out of the warehouse, in the event that some of the fireworks were still alive and kicking.

Only when they stopped and paused for breath, did Jackie turn to his niece. "Jade!"

"Yes, Jackie?" the stranger and Jade said in unison again.

Only now did Valerie notice, at the same moment Jackie did. They talked the same, they _looked_ the same. The same honey eyes and curved lips, just on an older face. Valerie felt a little woozy but desperately tried not to faint again. The last thing she needed right now was that.

"Explain?" Jackie squeaked.

"Err, Jackie, Valerie…" Jade attempted to laugh nervously. "Meet… future-me?"

"H-how? Why?" Valerie asked.

"No-one asked for your input." Older-Jade spat coldly.

"Excuse me?!"

Jackie stepped between them, arms outstretched. "How about you explain to us who that boy was?"

"That was Drago. Shendu's son." And that was when Older-Jade threw a dirty look at Valerie. "Valerie's son."

"No!" Valerie denied vehemently. "That's not true! I think I would've remembered if my uterus had undergone that kind of task, thanks."

"But it _did_ happen – or _will_ happen."

"Impossible! Shendu's an ass and I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot barge pole. And even if I wanted to, he's trapped in stone."

"I'm from the future, remember?" the older-Jade quirked an unimpressed eyebrow. "Shendu escaped Section 13 custody, thanks to you. He didn't get far, and we returned him to stone, but not before we could stop you from getting a little bundle in the oven."

Valerie shook her head. The words rang in her mind, but they made her gut twist. She refused to believe it. "No. I wouldn't do that."

"Val's our friend!" Jade came to her immediate defence.

Older-Jade shrugged. "For now. But for how much longer?"

"Is that why you tried to shoot Valerie in the junkyard?" Jackie asked, his expression clearly not pleased.

"Yeah. In this time, Drago's not been born yet. So if either Valerie or Shendu dies, then the Drago from the future will cease to exist."

"That's not a good enough reason to try to kill her!"

"And how do you know Drago wouldn't pop back into existence as soon as Shendu found himself another baby-momma?" Jade demanded.

Older-Jade shook her head. "To make a specific person, it has to be with two specific people, at the exact right place, in the exact right time, under specific circumstances. You'll learn that in biology class next year."

"So that's what you came here for?" Valerie asked, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. "To travel all this way to murder me? I'm your friend!"

"You _were_ my friend. Big emphasis on the past tense," she snapped back. "But no, that wasn't my original intention."

Jade was the one to pop up excitedly and try to sooth the tension in the group. "Well, whatever it is, we can all work together now – and who knows, we might be able to change the future here and now."

Valerie and Older-Jade exchanged a look. They could've been the same age. Valerie couldn't get past that cold look in this stranger's eyes, that look of hatred, of hurt, of anger and resentment. The thought of the little girl beside her, growing to become this woman who would sooner kill her than look at her… it made her eyes prick with tears.

Jackie was the one to break the silence. "But why _did_ you come back here?"

"Duh!" Jade grinned. "Isn't it obvious? Future-me is so mega-bad, that dragon-boy had to come back to the past to rub me out while I'm just a squirt. So I surfed the time-ways to protect myself and kick his scaly butt all the way back to the future!"

"Aaaaand, we just stepped into Terminator-territory." Valerie muttered.

"Then… why did Drago leave without char-broiling you?" Jackie asked.

"Because–" Jade frowned, logic clearly catching up. "Yeah. Why did Drago leave?"

Older-Jade looked grim. "Because he has bigger fish to fry."

"How much bigger?"

"I didn't follow Drago here. Drago followed me. To stop me from putting a kibosh on the age of dragons."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Valerie squeaked.

"Soon after I became Section 13's head haunch-o, sunny-boy made it to the top of our most-wanted list. Luckily, I convinced you and Uncle to become Section 13's official magic-consultants. But not even you and Uncle could prevent what happened next. Junior dusted off an old spell of his dad's, and conjured up an army of Dragon minions."

Valerie shivered. She remembered what that had been like the first time around. Both the portal at Shendu's old palace, and from the re-written reality.

"They gave him more than enough muscle to take over Section 13. I soon realised that the only way to save the future, was to change the past. But junior got wise to my plan and hitched a ride on Uncle's spell."

"Wait a minute," Valerie said. "Doesn't you even being here create a time-paradox? Logically, if you change the past, then you erase your very need to come here, so you'd just pop back to your own time."

"I'm not sure how it works," Older-Jade groaned. "All I know is I just need to get it done."

"There is one thing you have not told us," Jackie spoke up. "What exactly _is_ Drago trying to stop you from changing in the past?"

"He's trying to stop me from preventing the resurrection of his father."

"Shendu."

"But wouldn't he just need the talismans?" Valerie asked.

"I managed to hide them before Drago could take over Section 13," the woman said. "And anyway, he wants a permanent solution to set his father free, not one we could easily fix by just plucking the right talisman out of his body. He found it – dragon teeth."

Valerie sucked in a breath. "In old mythology dragon teeth can resurrect an army of unstoppable warriors."

"Or one unstoppable dragon. Drago's looking to protect them. I have to get to them first. And destroy them by midnight."

"Why midnight?" Jade asked.

"The moment I left the future, it was sunset. The evening before Chinese New Year."

Jackie nodded. "The exact time you arrived here."

Older-Jade nodded. "And in the future, Drago has already cast the dragon-teeth spell. So if we don't destroy the teeth, Shendu makes his big come-back at the stroke of Chinese New Year."

"Big whop," Jade scoffed. "Future-Jackie and Future-Uncle can beat Future-Shendu. They've done it before."

Valerie winced. "Why do I get the feeling that a big 'however' is coming?"

Older-Jade looked down at the floor, fear evident in her honey coloured eyes. "Jackie and Uncle were taken prisoner during the dragon raid on Section 13. They're set to become Shendu's welcome back snack…" she looked at her watch and gulped, "in fifteen minutes…"

* * *

They hitched a ride on a pair of motor-scooters, and Jade from the future lead them to the shore just underneath the Golden-Gate Bridge. Valerie wondered how and why ancient Dragon teeth would be buried in the Americas. Surely someplace like Europe or Asia would be more appropriate. What's more, Future-Jade claimed that the teeth could only be destroyed by magic. Valerie was thankful she didn't have Uncle around to gloat his usual: " _magic must defeat magic"_

But by the time they arrived, it was already 11:50pm. They only had ten minutes left. The sense of urgency made Valerie's stomach flutter and she thought she would throw up. It was just so much to absorb. The future Shendu was about to break free and eat Jackie and Uncle, all with the help of _her_ son?

As they pulled up to the spot, they stared. A stone statue, covered in earth and roots stood erect in the soil. A stone mouth lay open, and toothless. The entire group gaped and stared. Valerie looked at the ground in front of the statue, and her mouth fell open in a silent scream.

The old metal detector and puffer-fish. It lay broken and shattered and lifeless on the ground. Uncle had spent hours working on that – even if it was just duct-tape. Valerie had thought it a ghastly thing, and she'd often thought Uncle horrid and an ass. But he'd been good to her, his heart had been pure, and now to see something of his there, broken and abandoned, tore her heart out. She frantically looked around, panic setting in. If anything had happened to that old man… she didn't know what she would do with herself.

"Uncle?!" she screeched out into the night. The others looked around with her. "Uncle!"

" _Jackie_!" shouted a voice. They all looked up and gaped to see Uncle tied up and suspended from the bridge. "We must retrieve teeth!"

"Oh." Said someone behind them. They turned. Drago stood not ten feet away, a huge triumphant grin across his face. He held up a large glass vial, filled with pointed serrated teeth. "I imagine Grampy's referring to _these_ little chompers!"

Future-Jade stepped forward, eyes narrowed. "You're taking a risk hanging around here, aren't you Drago?"

"Can't go anywhere without my ride."

Everyone looked to Future-Jade, confused. She patted her pocket. "Time travel spell. Never leave the future without a return ticket."

"Dad's homecoming is just minutes away," Drago said and threw a look towards Valerie before strutting his way towards Future-Jade. "And I really don't want to miss the appetisers…"

"No deal, Drago!"

"How about this: hand me the spell, or the old-guy goes bungie jumping – without a bungie."

"Stop it!" Valerie snapped. Drago blinked at her, as if he were shocked to find her there and speaking. "Why go after us? Uncle? If you are actually my son, I wouldn't want you to hurt those I care about! Why do any of this?"

"This was all for _you_ , Mom! Yours!" he snapped. Valerie flinched, and he closed his eyes. "You can't understand it yet, but you will."

He broke off and stared behind them. Valerie turned and saw Jackie climbing up to reach Uncle. Drago snarled to himself and unleashed a jet of fire towards Uncle. Valerie and the Jades yelled, but couldn't stop the fire from reaching the ropes that suspended Uncle above the dizzying height. They didn't disintegrate it fully, but the rope still began to burn. Jackie hurried his ascent.

"Stay here!" Future Jade said to the younger one.

She ran for their fallen scooters and raced one back towards Drago. Valerie watched with wide eyes. Did she mean to run him over? Drago heard the rev of the engine and blasted it with fire as it leapt into the air towards him. It exploded, and from the flames flew Future-Jade, in what even Valerie had to admit was an entrance of epic-proportions.

Her foot struck out and she kicked him backwards. The lizard-man managed to stay on his feet, even if he slid back several yards. He looked up, fangs gritted. It turned to a smirk when Future-Jade landed in front of him, fists ready.

"Like old times," he muttered.

Jade didn't rise to the bait. "Sorry, Scaly. I'm not the sentimental type."

They fought. A flurry of leaps, punches and kicks, all moves of a martial arts style. Future-Jade kept up as best she could, almost as good as Jackie, from what Valerie could see. But she could only use her own four limbs. Drago used everything to his advantage, hands, feet, fire breath and even his tail. As the fight wore on, it was clear who would win eventually. Drago had speed and strength on his side, whilst Jade was already lagging.

Valerie glanced down at the Younger-Jade beside her. Damnit, she hated to have to do this. But what choice did they have? She knelt down beside the girl and gave her a stern look. "When I give the word, okay?"

"Okay!"

Valerie looked up, just as Drago whipped his tail straight into Future-Jade's face with all the force his momentum could give him. The woman's head snapped to the side, and she fell into the dirt. Blood streamed from her nose, and she seemingly came in and out of consciousness for a moment.

"Now!"

Valerie charged for Drago. She didn't know if this would make any difference, and braced herself for a world of hurt. She leapt and tackled Drago right in the small of the back. Her shoulder slammed into his rock-hard body, and she cried out from the pain that ricocheted down her whole left side. Drago yelled as he was thrown forward from the unprepared attack and they both went to the ground. His grip on the vial loosened and it flew into the air – right for Jade to catch it.

Immediately, Drago threw Valerie off of him. He growled and seemed ready to pounce on the groaning woman, until he saw her face and took a moment to recognise her. He blinked dumbly down at her.

"What are _you_ doing?" he demanded.

She groaned. "Saving the future…"

 _BANG!_ They looked up as bright lights flashed across the sky. It took Valerie a moment to recognise the streams of colour and sound that zapped the currently sensitive matters of her brain, were fireworks. But if there were fireworks going off, then that could only mean…

Drago grinned. " _Eh!_ You lose. Dad just got his wake-up call."

* * *

 _18 years into the future…_

In a desolate bunker that had once been Section 13, behind a pristine door that had been untouched by the destruction, a cell was filled with chaotic energy. Teeth laid out in the centre of the floor in the midst of a painted symbol, glowed and crackled as energy coursed all around them.

On one side of the room, two elderly humans trembled. On the other side, a statue cracked and groaned, dust rained down to the floor, and its eyes glowed a torch-bright red. Shendu could feel his stone casing crumbling, could feel his scales returning, his limbs growing back into existence, his body moving in a way it had not done in years. He let out a loud crocodilian rumble as his head slithered forward and his body was finally released from its spell.

He stood tall above his prey, careful to not disturb the teeth that had not yet finished their precious magic. Brandishing his claws, he threw his head back and roared, "Ah! I live again!"

Only then did he turn his attention to his prey, and oh, what joy did it give him to see their puny forms, bound and at his mercy. His anger was only intensified when he felt nothing inside of him. He stomped forward, scowling at them with bright eyes that promised murder with every step.

"No finer way to emerge from a slumber… than to a nice hot cup of _revenge!"_

* * *

 _Present_

"Say," Valerie heard Jade speak, and twisted her head enough to see the girl smirking that mischievous smirk of hers as she looked up at her older self. "Are you sure he's Shendu's kid?"

Drago stood away from Valerie and faced the two, lips peeled back over his teeth.

Older-Jade returned the smirk. "Who? The tooth-fairy here?"

"Jades…" Valerie called, shaking her head. "What are you doing?"

Younger-Jade scoffed. " _Tch._ I mean, Shendu had edge, but this Drago dude's more like…"

The pair of them seemed to not notice how loudly Drago was hissing, how he was becoming angrier with every word they spoke. Valerie shrunk away from it.

Future-Jade grinned. "A gecko with zits?"

Drago roared and blasted a jet of fire at them. Even Valerie could feel the searing heat from where she lay on the ground. Future-Jade picked up the younger and ran from the inferno. But not before the child could open the vial and toss the contents into the flames. The teeth instantly turned to ash.

Everyone stood and stared, dumbstruck, at the dust that now floated through the wind.

Drago was the first to react, and shouted: " _Noooooooooo!"_

* * *

 _18 years into the future…_

Shendu stood poised over his prey, teeth salivated and bared in unrestrained hatred.

At seeing the two familiar, squirming forms on the ground before him, Shendu felt his chest constrict in utter rage. A dull hate bashing at the door and demanding action. His fangs ripped a snarling hole as a roar came fourth, bursting through his mouth in triumph and pain. A bittersweet victory.

He heard a hiss, and stopped. He turned and saw the Dragon-teeth cease their magic and turn to dust all by themselves. The room stood still, as Shendu took a stunned second to realise what this meant. Too late did he feel the magic take a hold of him and pull him back.

"No! Not again!" he shrieked.

He fought, but was unable to prevent it as the magic swept through his body and disintegrated him and immediately reformed him back as a statue. As if he'd never been freed to begin with.

* * *

 _Present._

"I shall destroy you now and forever!" Drago roared.

He leapt for the Jades, teeth bared and throat aglow with fire. The girls were unprepared, and couldn't seem to get out of the way in time. Valerie shrieked a warning, knowing she could do nothing to stop it.

A blast of green hit Drago squarely in the chest and shot him out of the air. He hit the ground hard and was knocked out instantly. Everyone turned to see Jackie approaching, with Uncle at his side, pufferfish in hand. Valerie had never been so grateful to see the old-man alright.

"Told you a thousand times!" he snapped to all three girls, and Valerie was suddenly taking back that last sentence. "Magic must defeat magic!" Only then did he notice the pile of ash on the floor. "Where did teeth go?"

Future-Jade laughed nervously. "Dragon's fire-breath _is_ magic. Duh."

Uncle frowned. "Who is smarty-pants-good-chi-know-it-all who looks like Jade?"

And then it hit him.

" _AIIIYYAAA!"_


	5. A Progeny

A Progeny

* * *

It was safe to say that Drago had not been happy to wake up to find himself imprisoned in the cells at Section 13. Valerie could still hear him shouting and venting. A metal clamp had been placed over his mouth to prevent any fire outbreaks. But that didn't stop him from shouting and roaring all he wanted.

Valerie was left feeling quite… confused. On one hand, she hated this feeling that Shendu was right now as smug as could be, like this was some sort of proof that they were destined to be together. And on that note, she wanted to reject all notion of everything Drago represented and let him rot. But on the other hand… if there was even a shred of truth to what he claimed, that she was his mother, then… what was she supposed to do? She felt bad for leaving him the way he was, and it made her wonder at all the cryptic things that he'd said.

These jumbled thoughts stayed with her as she accompanied the others to say goodbye to the Future-Jade. She stood with the spell ready to go and take her home, but no family would let her leave without saying farewell.

"I really appreciate you saving me the hassle of hauling Drago's scaly tail all the way back to the future," she said to Jackie with a smile – the first one Valerie had seen on her.

"Ooooooh," Jade groaned, clearly not so happy to see herself leave. "Do you have to go back so soon? We haven't gone rollerblading! Or mastered the puke-en-ater at Mooseworld!"

"Been there, done that. Besides, don't you think–"

"Hanging around with myself is a little weird?" the younger Jade finished.

Valerie shrugged. "Yeah, it just got weird…"

"Yeah. We'd probably just stand all day finishing–"

"Each other's sentences?" the older-version of her winked.

"One more thing!" Uncle said. "Future-Uncle _allows_ you to use his spells?"

Future-Jade gulped, a rabbit in the headlights. "Oh… yeah… total access! You really mellow out as you age."

"I'll believe that when I see it." Valerie chuckled.

"And as for you," Future-Jade turned her cooling gaze onto Valerie. There wasn't that hostility anymore, just… regret. "Make the right choice."

Valerie gulped. Her voice was suddenly shaky as she attempted to speak. "Jade? There's something you haven't said… what happened to me in the future?"

"I'd be more worried about your present."

The bluntness, the complete lack of emotional input, it made Valerie shudder and withdraw from her. She looked to the little girl by her side. Val loved her like a sister, could she really turn out to hate her? What had she done to deserve this? She shrank away, her throat choked with a sudden lump. The rejection was too much for her to take. She whispered her apologies to Jackie and quickly left the room.

She frantically tried to wipe away the tears that threatened to drop down her cheeks. She wouldn't cry over something that hadn't even happened yet. But it wasn't enough. No matter what she tried to tell herself, she couldn't force it out of her mind. Her friend hated her because of something she did. Apparently Valerie was destined to turn evil and go against everything she currently believed in. The very thought made her shiver with revulsion.

But then she scolded herself. It wasn't enough for her to sit about like this, and before she knew it, she was stood right in front of the cell-block. Her heart thundered in her chest. She suddenly wanted to turn around and run the other way as fast as her legs could carry her. But no. She needed answers, and it appeared that she would get them from nowhere else.

The security guard had always liked her whenever they'd bumped into each other in the break-room. Darrel, Valerie thought his name was. All it took was a sweet smile and a few exchanged words, and he let Valerie walk through the security doors and into the cell blocks themselves. The long hallway echoed the sound of her boots back to her. The empty prison rooms guarded by titanium bars seemed to gawk at her. But she kept her head held high and went straight for the cell at the very end of the corridor.

Drago sat on his bunk, hissing like a snake to himself. Valerie thought it a pitiful display, but she could see from his eyes that he was deeply angered by this turn of events. Though his mouth was covered in a hideous metal mask, his brows and eyes were so expressive that they displayed his emotions for him. His gaze never left her as she came to stand a foot away from his cell bars, and crossed her arms awkwardly across her chest. Great, now that she was here, what was she to do now?

"So…" he said, a hint of anger in his voice. "Looks like I'm sentenced to be stuck in the past forever."

"Future-Jade thought it too dangerous to take you with her." Valerie said quietly.

"Not scared I'll wreck the future by screwing the present? Never mind. She got what she wanted – me in the pit of hell."

"How… uh, how are you settling in?" she finally managed to choke out awkwardly.

He slowly tilted his head at her, eyes giving her a slight glare. His voice wasn't shut off by the mask, as she heard him say in a slightly muffled voice, "How do you think? The bed's uncomfortable and this jump suit is too damn small!"

"I guess that's fair." She began to pace in front of the bars. She didn't know why, she just felt like she needed to move. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and turned to face Drago. "Are you really my son?"

"You seriously asking me that? That's what you came all this way for?"

"I need to know. You'll have to understand that it's a bit hard to believe from my perspective."

He stood. He was tall, impressively so, and with his lean muscular body he posed an intimidating figure. But Valerie was the daughter of a cop. She didn't shrink away from bad apples behind bars. Besides, it didn't look like Drago wanted that from her – at least she thought he didn't.

"You want me to say it was a joke? Something I said for shits and giggles?"

"I'd prefer it if you said a demon popped you out."

"I'm only half demon. Half human – weak. Thanks to you." He grasped hold of the bars, his eyes blazing a clear aggravation. They held stares for a moment. "Yes. I'm your son – or _will_ be your son – or, I don't know!"

Valerie looked away and snorted. "Good to know someone else is just as confused about all this."

"If it makes you feel better; if they did a DNA test, we'd match," he murmured as he skulked across to the other side of the cell and sat on his bunk.

"Funnily enough, that _doesn't_ make me feel better."

Drago shot her a dirty look. "So glad you feel that way."

"No, wait, I didn't mean… that…" Valerie's eyes widen, sudden guilt made her eyes widen. Good grief, how terrible did she sound when she said things like that? "Sorry. I guess I'm not very good at this whole… _mom_ thing."

He looked away. "You never claimed to be. Just did what you thought would help us get by. And when things like this came up, you always stayed clear of it."

"Sounds like me," Valerie murmured to herself. After a moment, she sat down next to the bars and leaned her side against them. "Usually I'm a sarcastic sceptic."

"I know. You never used to believe me when I said the dog ate my homework."

Valerie chortled at him. "You went to school?"

"As if." He snorted.

They sat in silence for a moment. Valerie's ever-so-small smile started to fade, and she looked at her hands as her fingers played with each other in an attempt to settle her nerves. "I am sorry. I didn't mean it the way I said it."

"Yeah, you did," Drago murmured with a hint of bitterness. "Because you don't understand."

"Then help me to understand." She looked over at him earnestly. "Tell me more about you, Drago."

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Can a mother not know about her son?" When he threw her a look and cocked a brow, she sighed. "Look, I've got nobody else to talk to right now. And I need answers. Besides, it doesn't look like you've got much in there by way of entertainment."

"Good point." Drago sighed and sagged his shoulders in defeat. "Alright. Shoot."

"Favourite colour?"

"Seriously?" he gawked at her. When she shrugged he growled to himself. "Fine. Black."

Valerie frowned. "How very goth of you."

"I'm not goth. And before you ask, I'm not a vampire groupie either."

"Just making sure. Demon-spawn, I can handle. Twilight-fanboy, no thank you." He chuckled at that, it wasn't a pleasant sound, as if he only knew how to laugh like a villain. Finally, Valerie asked in a quiet voice, "What kind of mom was I like?"

"What does it matter?"

"Just wondering if I should hate myself for being a dead-beat mom as well as the woman who attempted to unleash the overlord of the apocalypse."

Drago was quiet for a while, and she feared he wouldn't answer. "It wasn't an outstanding childhood. But I understood why you couldn't take me to Disneyland."

"Okay…"

"You did what you could for me. That's all I'll say."

Valerie nodded. Whatever it was he didn't want to say, it was a touchy subject for him. Had she done something to him? She shuddered to think that. Eventually, she had to ask the question: "What did you mean when you said that all of your plan was for me? Was it my idea? Did I tell you to do this?"

"No. But you gave me all the information I needed to exploit every weakness in this place."

"That's as complicit as directing it," she shot back.

"If your fishing for answers about your future, you won't get none from me."

"Why?" She shot him a fierce look.

"So that you can change the future?" Drago returned her glare just as hotly. "Thanks, but I prefer to still be living."

"But does it have to end this way? Why can't I try and make you see what's right?" she pleaded.

"Whatever hope you had for that died a long time ago. Now, we just go along with the choices we make."

"Have you always been so alone?" When he was silent, Valerie felt her breath hitch and tears sting her eyes. "Great. Turns out I'm a screw-up of a mother after all."

His voice was quiet. "You weren't a screw-up…"

"Whatever I did, Drago… I'm sorry." The choked words escaped her in a whisper. Shakily, she stood and dusted off her jeans. She cast the human-demon one last look. "I'll talk to the guard to see about getting you some comfortable clothes. I'll be back to talk to you soon. I meant what I said about getting you to see things right."

He didn't answer. Didn't even look at her. Valerie hung her head and began to walk away down the hallway. If Drago didn't want to talk to her then that was fine. This wasn't about them. However, Valerie did mean it when she said she wanted to reform Drago. Her father had always believed that people were capable of change, even criminals. Perhaps, if she could come here and keep talking to Drago, make up for whatever mysterious wrongs she'd committed in the future, then maybe he might change.

She didn't get half way down the hall way, when his voice echoed up to her in a quiet murmur. "It was good to see you again… Mom."

Valerie stopped and looked over her shoulder. Drago's back was to her, but she still watched him, as if waiting for him to do something else. When he did nothing, she merely nodded and sighed. This whole ordeal had left her confused and with more questions than when she'd arrived. But it was something.

She kept to her word and spoke with the security officer about getting Drago some different clothes. After all, she'd reasoned, if he was going to be staying here for a long while, he needed to be comfortable and treated humanely. The guard was a little perplexed but still agreed to her request. Valerie thanked him with the sweetest smile she could grant, before she went on her way. She still had one more visit to make.

The vault was unguarded, and seeing as how Valerie knew all the codes to disable the alarms and cameras, it was no big deal to get in. The room was dark and only lit itself up when she moved within. The air was frigid cold, enough for her to see her breath steam. But she ignored it all and went straight for the statue at the other end of the room.

It gave her no response. The eyes didn't glow, it didn't speak. It looked like just any ordinary statue.

Valerie wasn't buying it. "Are you still ignoring me? Fine. Skulk for all I care right now. I just thought you should know, we brought in another demon. This one's from the future. He's in the cells right now."

No response.

"He also claims to be our son."

The eyes flashed bright red and a surprised hiss erupted from the mouth of the statue. " _WHAT?!"_

"Thought that might get your attention."

"Valerie, wait!" his call stopped her just before she could leave. Her heart was skipping every other beat. Her insides were doing flips, and her left hand ached along her scar. Shendu's soft voice whispered to her in soothing, pleading tones. "Please, speak with me."

"I can't," she choked out. God, she hoped the battle of emotions that raged through her didn't give her away. "I'm sorry, but right now… I just can't!"

And with that, she turned and left. She heard Shendu calling after her, demanding that she come back and explain. But in all honesty, she was done. Today had already become too much for her. She just wanted to go home and collapse.

But she didn't go home. Her little beat-up car managed to find its way to Uncle's store, where she trudged into the interior. The main shop was switched off and dark, but there was a soft, warm light coming from the kitchen. Valerie shuffled towards it, desperate for just a little comfort.

She found Tohru at the oven, a little apron tied over his massive belly. He'd just pulled out a tray of cookies that steamed and filled the whole room with a fragrance of home. Valerie breathed it in as if her life depended on it. When Tohru finally noticed she was in the room with him, he looked over to her and frowned.

"Valerie?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, big guy," she whispered hoarsely. "I'm fine. Just… been a rough day."

Tohru didn't say a word, he simply took two massive steps towards her and wrapped his arms around her tiny frame. Valerie squeaked, but after a moment, melted into his embrace. She couldn't stop the one or two tears that trickled out of her eyes. It had been such a bad day, and to just get something as simple as a hug at the end… it was emotional.

"Jade and the others want to go stargazing tonight," Tohru murmured above her head. "You can come up with us. Until they get back, you can help me with the cookies, and I'll make us some hot-coco."

Valerie grinned and sniffed. "Anybody ever tell you you'd make an awesome grandma, Tohru?"

He smiled right back.

* * *

Shendu deliberated with himself for hours into the night. When one seemingly has all of eternity, one then has the luxury of taking one's time to make decisions. And after all, what Valerie had said to him had been a bit of a bombshell – as the human saying goes.

A demon was here… from the future… who claimed to be their son? Shendu had sensed the presence of a demon, and his own chi had responded to the fire-demon chi in this stranger. He had thought it strange but never contemplated this sort of outcome. His initial response was to answer this with disbelief. But in his bones, he knew it to be the truth.

The first thing that came to mind was the implications. If this Drago was from the future and his and Valerie's son, then that was irrefutable evidence of a future where they were together. At some point, Valerie would become his. She must still feel _something_ for him – there was no other explanation. If she did not and there was no hope for him, then Drago would not still be in existence. The thought filled Shendu with triumph and anticipation, it suddenly all seemed so close. All his hopes and dreams of the woman he wanted was within his grasp, all he had to do was reach out and grasp the moment.

Speaking of reaching out, Shendu realised it would be wise to see if this Drago was all that he appeared to be. So, he reached out with the now great expanse of his mind through the compound – another one of the added perks of being completed by one's Other. His mind reached the cell-block, and he found that familiar radiation of chi. It was quite eerie, as it seemed to be an identical match to Shendu's in almost every way. Cautiously, Shendu probed the mind of the young demon. He couldn't have been no more than 18 years old, compared to other demons he was an infant, yet he had the mind and body of a man nearly full grown.

The response was ignorance, but when Shendu pushed a little harder, he felt ire and guarded caution arise. Which meant he had been noticed. Drago must have sensed their similar chi's, for a moment later, his walls were removed, and Shendu was allowed inside the young dragon's mind.

Once in, he found it to be… not what he'd expected. The young dragon's mind was created and ordered much like humans, with various thoughts all competing at once for attention, and then those thoughts going off on tangents. There was no sense of eternity, which automatically brought its own sense of order to one's consciousness; for when one can live for almost forever, you have all the time in the world to appreciate one thought at a time. This chaos made for a very unstable foundation. What's more, Shendu could detect something very different in how his mind was constructed in comparison to Drago's. They both had the same fire-chi which washed everything in warmth and the light of embers. Yet Drago had every cell inside him centred and correct, as if it all belonged together, there was lightness and darkness in equal measure inside him. This was something Shendu himself had only achieved when he'd been bonded with Valerie. Obviously Drago had not found his Other, _if_ he had one in existence, but the way he was constructed seemed to point to the conclusion that he was the product of two halves forming into a whole. It was most intriguing.

And yet, despite all of that, Shendu could sense the fury and volatile components all battling inside of this young one. Guarded, he finally spoke into the young demon's mind. " _Drago_."

" _Father_." Came the slow yet sour reply. " _I was wondering when you'd show up_."

 _"_ _I had to see if it was true. You claim to be my son?"_

 _"_ _Why is it everyone's asking me that today?"_ Drago asked himself rhetorically. _"_ _Yeah. I'm your son."_

His insolent tone was immediately met with Shendu's ire. " _Speak with more respect, boy! Know who your betters are."_

 _"_ _Whatever you say, Dad."_

There was silence between them for a moment. Shendu took note of Drago's emotions, how they seemed to be bathed in bitterness and frustration when conversing with him. After a while, he said with barely concealed hope, _"_ _And Valerie is your Mother?"_

" _Yeah. That's not something you let me forget_."

" _How? When?"_

 _"_ _I don't know_ , _I never asked – honestly, that's kind of disgusting."_ His queasy retort was suddenly cut off, and Shendu felt his attention deviate away from him. He only came back momentarily to say: _"_ _Hold on a second, I gotta take this."_

" _What_?"

 _"_ _Nothin'. Just guards giving me new clothes – guess Mom had a word with them after all."_

 _"_ _She does that."_

It took ten minutes before Drago finally returned. Shendu wasn't the most patient of demons to begin with, yet when he was desperate for answers as he was now, suffice it to say that he was biting at the bit the moment Drago returned his full attention to the conversation. It marvelled him how he'd already no longer thought of Drago as another demon, but as his son. Perhaps the blood tie between them was that obvious and that strong, it just clicked into place for the older Dragon Demon. That, and the boy represented in his very being all the hopes Shendu had for his and Valerie's future. But that didn't save him from Shendu's thinning patience.

 _"_ _Why are you here, boy?"_ he asked.

 _"_ _In the future I released you,"_ said Drago. _"_ _I had to come back in time to prevent the Chans from foiling my plans."_

 _"_ _Evidently you failed."_

Drago's anger and pride flared around them as he snapped back. _"_ _I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas."_

 _"_ _Do not speak to me in that manner!"_

 _"_ _This is how it always was!"_ he shouted. _"_ _You dictate to me your expectations and made me run in circles after everything you wanted. Then when I bit back, you'd shut off from me!"_

Shendu's composure came to a swift end as his own anger reared vehemently. _"_ _What is the meaning of th–?!"_

 _"_ _You were never around! You dumped me on Mom and never tried to break out again to help us!"_

 _"_ _Valerie, I would come for. A disappointing whelp? No."_

 _"_ _I am your son! Heir to your power and legacy!"_

 _"_ _That, I have yet to see."_ Shendu sneered.

A dark and foreboding emotion swelled around them as Drago's voice dropped dangerously low. _"_ _Well, I learned best from you to take what I want."_

 _"_ _You would turn on your own kin?"_ Shendu said the first spiteful thing he could think of. _"_ _I would expect no less… from a half breed."_

 _"_ _You take that back!"_ Drago raged. _"_ _I'm no mere half-breed! I'm the spawn of two Others – I was born whole and perfect! I'm more than you can imagine!"_

 _"_ _Funny then how you ended up here after just_ one day _._ "

The young dragon had to pant heavily, even mentally, to control his growing outrage. " _I'll prove it! I'll show you that I'm worthy of being called your son!"_

There was such intention in that declaration that Shendu felt alarm bells ring through his mind. _"_ _I warn you, boy! Do not play with your father's world."_

 _"_ _I'll do more than play with it. I'll fulfil my destiny and–"_

Nothing happened that any human would have ever detected, even those that claimed to be in tune with the mystic forces of nature. All that anyone could have noticed out of the ordinary, a shower of meteors flashed across the night's sky. But for the two demons inside of Section 13, and even those trapped in the Netherworld, the equivalent of a bomb was suddenly unleashed across the chi-waves that covered the earth.

It was enough to knock Shendu's breath right out of his lungs (metaphorically speaking), and send his mind spinning back into his own body. He was disorientated, panicked, his eyes flashed brilliantly bright as his mind was cast about all over the place in an attempt to figure out what was going on. Massive amounts of chi had just erupted, almost all across the world, he could feel it. The waves, the storms, the wind, all of nature itself trembled and quaked as something arose within it. The shockwave of this momentous amount of power would have been enough to level cities to the ground had it been existent in the material form.

Shendu's mind was suddenly assaulted with a torrent of visions, ones that he'd thought had been unique to that strange dream, but now came at him again. Blood, storm clouds rumbling, a dark shadow over a cold world. A gale of wind, a mournful call. A mountain, drop of water, a stone chalice. A sword. A scream. And lastly, he was only aware of somewhere cold and dark, and saw a pair of brilliant blue orbs open and the light inside awaken with a furious roar.

The fire-demon's spirit trembled in shock and panic. In all his days, he never thought this would happen. It had all seemed so farfetched, but now it was real! Though earlier he had complained about Drago's unorganised thoughts, now his own were a jumbled mess. Too many questions and fears rambled through his mind so fast, he could hardly know what some of them were.

Drago broke through the chaos as his mind touched his father's, though he didn't seem to be any less hysterical. " _What the hell was that?!"_

" _She has awoken…"_ was all Shendu could whisper in utter disbelief.

 _"_ _Who?!"_

" _Ti–"_

They were interrupted again when another, though smaller shockwave answered the first. As if summoned by the explosion of Chi, a new wave began to glimmer and call out into the void. Shendu recognised instantly the familiar negative power associated with the demon-chi of his siblings. Images of various symbols played out to his mind's eye, an invitation that those powers had just revealed themselves and were waiting to be claimed.

Only one dragon in Section 13 fell for the bait. " _That is my destiny!"_

" _Drago? What are you doing?"_ Shendu asked sharply. " _Drago!"_

* * *

Drago cackled as he unleashed a fire breath so hot that it tore apart both the mask over his face and the bars of his cage. The wave of Chi he'd felt – although not having a clue as to what it was – had temporarily boosted his already potent abilities, like the high from a drug. It was enough to make him strut out of his cell and into freedom. He could hear all the alarms blaring across the bunker, but ignored it.

 _"_ _Drago!"_ his father snapped into his mind angrily.

Drago's triumph was overflowing. " _I'm bustin' outta here!"_

 _"_ _Then you will release me as well."_

 _"_ _Rot, old man."_ Drago smirked to himself. He'd never spoken to Shendu this way before, and now revelled in the opportunity to avenge years of torment. _"_ _I've accepted the challenge. I will fulfil my destiny!"_

He heard his father roar his outrage, but pushed him out of his mind for good. The security guard at the desk attempted to pull a gun on Drago as he neared the far-off door. But the young dragon battered him aside with a backhand. The man crumpled to the floor, and Drago didn't care what condition he left him in as he burst out of the cell-block with an explosion of fire and smoke.

The elevator took him to the main hall. He was almost pleased to see the forces of Section 13 awaiting him and armed with guns and missile-launchers of all kinds. He grinned and stalked towards him. The reds of his eyes focused on Captain Black, hate in every fibre of his being.

"Give it up, Drago!" ordered the stoic, bald man. "You're not going anywhere. And neither is your dragon-daddy."

Drago smirked. "Now who said anything about bustin' out that old gecko? I'm going solo."

And with that, a shot of flame burst forth out of his mouth. The agents of Section 13 screamed and jumped to get out of the way. Two were not so lucky. They screamed as their flesh melted inside their hard-suits, even when the flames were extinguished around them. Drago knew that would keep the others busy, and so turned aside.

He blasted a hole through Section 13's wall and revealed the city skyline. With a grin, he hopped up easily onto the sides of the still glowing-hot bricks. Fire does not harm dragons, so drago felt nothing on the soles of his feet as he stood.

"Mess with a dragon," he called back over his shoulder, "You're gonna get burned!"

And then, he leapt into the night of the city, and was gone.


	6. Blown Away

Blown Away

* * *

"And that is Ursa Major, more commonly referred to as the Big Dipper," Jackie was telling the others.

He huddled over a telescope, far too excited as he looked up at the gorgeously clear night sky – something rare in any city. The others stayed wrapped up and warm, with Valerie huddled in a blanket and the last mouthfuls of her hot-coco swirled in her mug. Jade had skipped the invitation for hot chocolate in favour of a large soda drink and snacks. Uncle sat on a deck chair, and was attempting to repair his dark-chi-detector. Tohru stood by Jade, and handed her snacks as she asked for them.

"Makes you wonder if the stars did it on purpose to look like a huge saucepan," Valerie smirked.

Jackie grinned. "I do not think they–"

"Incoming!" shouted Jade.

Jackie swung the telescope around, only for the child to burp right on the end of his lenses. Tohru immediately burst into a fit of laughter, whilst Valerie recoiled in disgust. Jackie frantically attempted to wipe off the condensation that had sprung up on the telescope.

He threw the girl a look. "Urgh! Jade!"

"Sorry girl," grimaced Valerie, "but that's totally gross!"

Jade shrugged. "What? I'm the burping master in class. And anyway, Tohru liked it."

As if to emphasise her point, Tohru's giggles grew bigger, refusing to be contained. Jackie, however, did not look quite as impressed. He threw Jade another look, and her smug grin faltered.

"Jade, I don't want to hear that you're disrupting your class with these bad manners." He then pointed a finger up at Tohru. "Please, Tohru. Do not encourage her."

" _Aiya!"_ shouted Uncle, making Valerie jump. None of them had even noticed that he'd snuck up to look through the telescope. "Jade's belly breezes not important! Look!"

He pointed upwards, and they all trained their gazes on the heavens. Just in time, as a shower of comets raced across the night sky. They flashed like bright lights, a stream of white that burned off and died as it attempted to pierce through the atmosphere. A dozen, or maybe two dozen fell, each a twinkling brightness that dies before it could blossom into something more.

Valerie hissed and snapped her eyes down towards her left hand. Her scar burned as if she'd pressed her palm into a hot frying pan. She rubbed it against her pant leg. The shower of comets didn't last long, and as soon as they finished, the pain in her hand ebbed to a non-consequential itch.

"The forecast said nothing about a comet shower," Jackie murmured thoughtfully.

Uncle grumbled to himself. "Falling stars reveal that now is very good time for very bad Chi…"

"Seriously?" Valerie threw the old man a look. "Stars and Chi are linked now? I don't care what crap we've seen before, there has to be a limit. I mean, it's just a bunch of falling stars, how bad could it be?"

* * *

Drago skulked in the shadows of an alley. He waited with baited breath and craned his enhanced hearing for any sign of pursuers. No. He'd definitely lost them.

With the sunrise, his chi-high had worn off and forced the half dragon to find a place of refuge. He'd found a factory in the city's industrial complex and chose a corner to rest and recuperate. It was there that he'd found the peace and concentration to tap into the psychic energies of the world, to listen to the song of chi in the hopes that it might repeat its verses to him that it had spoken the night before.

It was diluted, that much was certain. Instead of hearing all of the different chi's that came alive last night, now he could only hear one at a time. It was frustrating, to say the least. But one benefit came from it. Now at least he had a game plan. To secure the demon Chi one at a time and to build himself into the greatest force this earth had ever seen. It would be a legacy truly worthy of his lineage.

And the first one happened to be right here in San Fran. How convenient.

His trance had told him of the chi of Xiao Fung, the wind demon, and its location. But his peace had been disturbed when Chan and the Agents of Section 13 had located him. With well-placed fireballs that threatened the factory's integrity, Drago had given himself ample cover to escape. He'd fled half way across the city in the wrong direction to help lure them away before he'd doubled back towards his intended target. He could now only hope that he'd lost them long enough to acquire his target.

He didn't want to enter this mission solo. It would have been easier with back up to serve as a distraction. But the only thugs he knew of in this timeline that would be up to speed enough to work for him were the Dark Hand Enforcers that his father had once used. And they were in jail from serving Daolon Wong. A jail break was too high profile. And hiring new thugs and having to explain everything to them and get their co-operation would take too much time for him right now. So, he was on his own.

At least his target wasn't that big. Just a little car-wash shop.

He breathed in and grinned. "The fan's here. I can smell it."

* * *

"Why did I say the words? Why!"

Valerie raged as she banged her fist on the side of her steering wheel. But honestly, why had she tempted fate like that?! She knew the saying, she knew she had horrible luck, so why did she dare the universe to punch her in the face?

Drago had escaped Section 13. If that wasn't bad enough, Uncle kept insisting that it had something to do with the falling stars and the bad-chi they heralded. Though Valerie was much more concerned with the murderous half-demon that was wondering around the city somewhere. Captain Black had put the vault on complete lockdown, for they feared that Drago would try to break his father out of jail too. Yet he'd made no move to do so. He'd escaped, and from the looks of it, he wasn't coming back.

That meant that Valerie was being shadowed. That was the part she hated. Though it was the next day now, Valerie and the other members of the Chan Clan were being supervised and watched by one of Captain Black's agents in case Drago thought it a good idea to get a little payback. They didn't get in the way, on that front she couldn't complain, but it did get annoying and somewhat anxiety inducing to constantly see a black SUV in her rear-mirror.

They even followed her to get her car washed! That, she considered to be pushing the line. The car was new but still had grease and dirt rusted into the paintwork from the last owner. It desperately needed it. Valerie pulled into the automatic car wash, and selected her choice of wash. A deep scrub. She felt like both the car and her needed it.

"Honestly," she muttered to herself as she heard the machines starting up around her. "Can't the universe give me a break?"

 _BANG!_

An explosion rocked the ground her car rested on and Valerie shrieked. She looked all about in to all her mirrors to try and find where the explosion had come from. She saw smoke and fire come from the parking lot. _The universe must really hate me,_ she thought.

A shadow moved in front of her car. And that was when she saw him. Drago. Followed closely by Captain Black and Jackie. She gaped at them. "Jackie?!"

He must've heard her, for he turned and his eyes widened when he saw her. "Talk later!"

She watched as Drago and Jackie fought around the car wash. They used tools, brooms, anything in the environment they could use at their disposal to give them an edge. Captain Black tried to intervene with a gun shot, but Drago had quickly spun and knocked the agent flying into the wall, where he'd crumpled to the floor, dazed. Valerie hadn't taken notice before, but Drago's martial arts were quite impressive. He was able to go toe to toe with Jackie, and his enhanced strength and speed and limbs gave him that slight edge. Though his brashness was also his shortcomings.

"Hello?"

They all heard the voice, and Valerie's heart stopped when she saw Jade at the other end of the runners. Drago spotted her as well, for his claws smashed apart the controls, and the alarms blared.

"Say goodbye, Jade."

Valerie felt her car begin to accelerate as it was pulled towards the helpless child. Jade gasped, certain that she would be crushed in the oncoming collision. But her older friend wouldn't allow it.

"Oh no you don't!" Valerie hissed and slammed her foot on the brakes. The car shuddered and came to a screeching halt. When the machines protested and attempted to pull her along further, she pulled up the handbrake to be certain.

She climbed out of the car and ran for the child, who stared at her. "Val?!"

"Talk later!" she repeated Jackie's line and pulled the child along by the hand through a side door away from the fighting.

They came into a small shop. A number of Chinese fans decorated one wall, whilst tires from all eras were displayed on the opposite side. The two friends breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the wall.

"How many times," Valerie began with a growl as she glared at Jade, "do I have to tell you to stay out of danger?"

The child had the nerve to give her a sheepish grin. "Wouldn't be any fun if I didn't, right?"

They were interrupted when the door beside them burst open and Drago strolled in. A grin was plastered across his face, though his expression faltered slightly when he spied the two females. Valerie pushed Jade behind her and quickly backed up. With a leather jacket with torn off arms and black clothing, he struck an even more intimidating image then he had before. She wanted to believe that Drago wouldn't hurt her to avoid a time-paradox. But the fear she felt was hard to swallow.

"Drago?" she asked and ignored the way her voice wobbled slightly.

"Hey, Mom." It unnerved her the way he spoke so casually to her, and then gave Jade a feral and extremely _dangerous_ grin. "Hello payback."

Valerie stepped in front of the girl and blocked her from view. "What do you want?"

Drago didn't answer at first, instead he looked to the wall decorated with fans and grinned again. "The Fan of the Immortals…"

"The what of the what?" she frowned.

"Jade! Valerie!"

They turned at the sound of the voice as Jackie ran into the room. Jackie leapt over Drago to take his attention away from Valerie and Jade. Which just so happened to put him between Drago and the wall of fans. The demon looked prepared to blast fire when he also noticed this, and released the smoke with a sigh. He growled and the pair braced themselves for battle. "Looks like we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way."

Once again, Valerie watched as Drago and Jackie battled. Drago used talons and tail to oppose Jackie's versatility. Valerie felt her stomach drop when Drago caught Jackie's fist in his clawed hands and then grabbed the front of his jumper. Jade must've felt the same anxiety as Valerie.

"We gotta do something, Val!"

Drago reached for Jackie's face with his claws. Valerie could see the worst about to happen and didn't think twice. She charged at the pair with a screech: "No!"

Her hands wrapped around his wrist and she attempted to pull his claws away from Jackie's eyes. But her little strength was nothing compared to his muscled and super-enhanced arms. Drago growled and tossed Jackie aside and reversed his grip so that it was _he_ that held Valerie's arm instead. He pushed her back slightly, as his other arm reached up towards the wall before him. Valerie's eyes widened when she noticed a particular fan begin to glow blue, as did Drago's hand. A stream of blue light shot into the air and twirled around the room in a hypnotic dance. Drago seemed to be in awe of it. Valerie felt her scar tingle.

" _Hiiiiyaaaa!"_

A trolley smashed into Drago's back and threw him into the wall with a resounding _crash_! Jade had leapt clear from the trolley just in time and landed next to Valerie with a slight wobble as she rubbed her head. Valerie noticed that the blue light-show had mysteriously vanished.

Jackie and Captain Black came running towards them. "Are you two alright?"

They heard a growl, right as Drago leapt to his feet, spewing fire from his mouth. He looked livid as he turned to them. Valerie expected him to bring a firestorm down upon their heads. But she – along with the others, were very surprised when he did nothing but pluck a fan from the wall (the one that she had noticed glowing previously) and smashed apart the wall with a blast of fire. He leapt through the debris and dust cloud, and when Valerie next looked, he was gone.

"All of this for a fan?" Jackie asked, voicing the confusion everyone felt.

"Not a fan!"

Valerie and the others looked over to see Uncle and Tohru walk into the shop. "How did you guys get here?"

"We followed the smoke," Tohru shrugged.

Uncle held up his finger and whispered gravely: "Fan of the immortals! Dragon teene-bopper wants to absorb its power for Wind Demon Chi."

Valerie felt her eyes blink stupidly. "Wait, what?" she looked to Captain Black, but he merely shrugged and walked away, clearly not interested in the complications that came with magic.

"But Uncle," Jackie sighed in exasperation. "We already defeated the other seven demons – ow! Ow!" he cried out when Uncle hit him over the head twice.

"Clean wax out of ears!" the old man shook his dried lizard condescendingly in front of his nephew's face. "Uncle said Demon- _Chi_ , not demons _themselves!_ Tohru, explain research."

The Japanese man nodded and spoke in a somewhat mystic tone. "Thousands of years ago, an immortal warrior used a magical fan to defeat Xiao Fung, the Wind Demon. But traces of the Wind Demon's power were rumoured to have clung to the fan throughout the centuries. Until–"

"They were again activated by the bad-falling-chi-stars we saw last night!" Jackie exclaimed in understanding.

"Hold on a minute!" Valerie said and held up her hands for silence. "Am I the only one who thinks this is a little bit crazy? I mean, you're saying a magic fan not only survived thousands of years without degrading in any way, but then just so happened to get discarded and sold around until it found its way to a _car-wash?!_ And who else is noticing that every time we just clean up a search for some number of lost artefacts, we have a new list to go after?"

Jackie appeared sympathetic and shrugged. "We can't just ignore this, Valerie."

"And how did you two find out about this anyway?"

Tohru shrugged as well. "We thought that perhaps the bad-chi-comets and Drago's break out were linked. We researched into ancient inscriptions to see if this had happened before. And Uncle's chi-o-metre was giving off strange signals. The research led us to the stories of the immortals. It turned out to be an educated guess."

"That seems a little convenient to just – OW!" she yelped when Uncle hit her with two fingers.

"Never question the inscriptions!"

Jade hummed thoughtfully. "So, Drago busted out of Section 13 in order to double up on demon powers – fire and wind!"

"By stealing fan of the immortals!" Uncle shrieked. He threw his fists in the air and round on Jackie angrily. "Why did you let demon take immortal fan?!"

"Oh… bad day, bad day, bad day…"

* * *

Drago roared. He tossed the fan aside and paced. He'd managed to find a quiet spot in a junkyard, the same one as he had first appeared in when he'd come through the time-spell. It wasn't the Ritz, but it was safe for now.

But now he was left with another problem. The fan no longer had the chi. It had been sucked out. But Drago had not felt it come to him, he would have known it. That meant that it was somewhere else. With some _one_ else.

He had to find it. Demon chi like that in a human would not be hard to find.

* * *

 _"_ _Jaaaaaaaaade…"_

 _The voice echoed all around her. But she couldn't see anything. No matter where she turned, the voice always eluded her. A giggle on a breeze to her left. A brush of wind and a whisper to her right. Jade would've been angry, if she wasn't so unnerved._

 _"_ _Here we go again, Jade…"_

 _Her brain felt like it was playing catch up. Everything spun, her feet weren't touching the ground, her centre of gravity kept pitching back and forth. She couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality, everything just felt so weird._

 _"_ _You took it all in. The darkness. Tsk-Tsk. Such a greedy girl."_

 _"_ _Look, pal, what do you want?"_

 _It giggled again, and Jade was certain the voice sounded familiar. "It's not the same as it would be for you and me. But I can reach you now."_

 _"_ _I'm done playing games, jerk! Show yourself!"_

 _"_ _Ooooooh Jaaaaaaaade…" The voice came from right in front of her. She felt the breath on her face. She turned. Hsi Wu's gremlin grin shot out of the darkness at her, and his read eyes beamed with delight. "Say Chi-Spell!"_

She bolted awake, body covered in sweat. The young girl panted, disorientated as she tried to recognise her familiar room. In the shadows she searched for any sign of the demon that haunted her dream. But found nothing. A moment of confusion came over her. What was all _that_ about? She hadn't thought about Hsi Wu in forever. Not since the weeks after she'd banished him. Why had he come to mind now?

Her thoughts that could've answered that questioned were halted when she felt bubbling pain sear through her stomach. She groaned and doubled up into a ball in her bed. Bubbles and noises gurgled through her torso in both directions. It felt like the worst trapped-wind she'd ever felt.

Jade whimpered to herself and threw the blanket back over her head. She could only hope that the morning would be more merciful.

* * *

It was 10:56. And Valerie had been reading the same page seven times. It just wasn't any good. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't absorb anything. Her mind wasn't coherent today.

She'd been awake all night, thinking about this new development. Demon-Chi? Her future-demon-spawn-baby escaped prison for a power-grab spree? Her Other locked in prison and always on her mind? It was now getting to the point of ludicrous at how much shit the universe could throw at her.

What was she supposed to do with all of this? Demon chi was not exactly her forte of expertise, nor was how to handle the tantrum of a pubescent demon-dragon. When faced with a problem, Valerie did what she always did: she went to her beloved books. She tried to read through the research that Uncle and Tohru had scoured through yesterday. Perhaps she could see an answer in there that they could not. But no matter how many times she read through the same passage over and over again, it wouldn't stick.

The thought kept creeping up on her, unbidden and unwelcome. If anyone knew anything about demons and demon-chi, it would be a demon itself. And how convenient that she had one locked up in the Section 13 Vault right now. Shendu could give her information, he could tell her exactly what happened and how to stop all this.

She banished the thought with a frustrated hiss. Who's to say that anything he said would have a shred of truth? He could lie to her, manipulate her, twist everything to his advantage just as he had done before.

And there it was. The root of her restlessness. She couldn't get him out of her head.

She'd tried. Oh, how desperately she tried. Ever since she'd returned to San Francisco, had seen him return to life, thoughts and memories of Shendu had haunted her mind. Some of them were pleasant, others were not and therefore only turned the pleasant ones' sour. She remembered how gentle he was, how devoted and affectionate he had been with her. But then she remembered how all of it had come at such a high price, one that made her feel like a terrible person for even considering to overlook it. She wanted to cast him from her mind, to let him rot in Section 13 and never give him her attention, even as a thought, ever again.

The only problem, was that he always seemed to be relevant to the situation. He was a fountain of knowledge from a life that spanned a thousand years or so. Of course it would be obvious to think that he would have all the answers to whatever questions she asked. He'd always been forthcoming with knowledge when she'd asked him questions before, and he'd never lied to her. He'd _withheld_ information, yes, but he hadn't directly lied to her.

It was like her own mind was starting to betray her, coming up with excuses to go and see him, to talk to him. It made her think that perhaps he might know about this demon-chi business, or how to stop Drago. But would it end there? Could she just go down to the vault, ask him her questions and leave? She didn't trust herself to not stay, to speak, to vent, to have at it.

But what would she say to him? That she was still angry for what he'd done in the alternative-reality, or maybe that she was angry because she felt so hurt, so disappointed, so crushed by his betrayal. Perhaps she might also tell him how confused she felt, how utterly torn she was over him. She didn't know whether to scream in his face or cry her heart out. That she wanted him to explain it all away to her, to say something to solidify her resolve – whether to hate him or forgive him, she didn't know. Or maybe she might tell him that the reason she was avoiding him right now was because she was afraid. Afraid that if she opened her mouth all the emotion inside of her would spill out, and she didn't know what the hell that emotion was and it scared the crap out of her.

No, she scoffed. She didn't think she'd be telling him all of that.

But then, how much longer could she put it off?

The store phone rang right beside her, so loud and shrill that she shrieked, startled. She scrambled to pull up the receiver to her ear and hurriedly say in it: "Hello! Uncle's Rare Finds, how may I help you?"

"Is this the Chan residence?" came a droning voice.

"It is."

"This is Mrs Hardman, Jade's teacher. Who is it I am speaking to?"

"Valerie Payne, a close friend of the Chans."

"Ah, yes. Miss Payne. Jade mentioned you, and Mr Chan put you on our contact list."

Valerie frowned and her voice grew a little impatient. "Might I ask what this is about, Ms Hardman?"

"Jade's been a little disruptive in class. Burping, passing wind, the usual. But I've sent her to nurse's office–"

"What? Is she okay?"

"She seems to be a little… green around the gills, you might say. It might be a virus, we've got a couple circulating the school, what with the changing weather. I've attempted to contact Mr Chan in order to arrange for Jade to be picked up. Do you know when–"

"I'll come and pick her up. I can be there in ten minutes."

"Of course. We'll see you then."

Valerie put the phone down and hurriedly snatched up her coat and headed for the door. She wondered about calling Jackie, but he was out buying the ingredients for Uncle's 'demon-chi-removal-spell' that he was brewing in the back room. She only paused to shout over her shoulder, "Uncle! Tohru! I've got to go pick up Jade. Phone Jackie and tell him!"

"Yes, Valerie." Came Tohru's reply.

As promised, she'd turned up at the school within exactly ten minutes. After going through the usual security checks to be sure that Jade was allowed to leave with her, she was shown towards the Nurse's office. Valerie didn't exactly have an unbiased opinion of Ms Hardman, seeing as Jade never stopped complaining about her. But the woman's sour face, snooty expression and all round air of disinterest only put to keep Valerie in a sour mood. She'd loved school and teachers as a child, but even she hadn't liked the bad ones.

Eventually, she was left alone, and so ventured the rest of the way into the small closet room that served as their main medical bay. She sighed, already expecting Jade's smart-ass comments the way she always did.

"Alright, who beat your burpy high score this time, Miss – ARGH!"

Valerie jumped back against the door. She was going to throttle Ms Hardman. Jade wasn't just 'green-around-the-gills' she was _literally_ green! Her hair was greasy, her cheeks were swollen, and her fingers looked… webbed?

"Holy Jumping-Jesus!" Valerie whispered. "What on earth happened to you?"

Jade shrugged. "So I'm a little gassy today? Blame the cafeteria burritos."

"This is just more than burritos, Jade." Valerie pointed to the mirror behind the child. She frowned, but turned to look at her reflection. Jade screamed and leapt into the air – _literally_ – and landed on the other side of the room.

"What's wrong with me?!" she shrieked.

"You're asking me as if _I'm_ supposed to know?!" Valerie stepped closer to her and tried to reach out to touch her.

"Well, Jade? Looks like it's time to play nurse." The two gasped and looked to the door as Drago sauntered in, a grin spread across his face. "So, stick out your Chi and say _Ahhh_."

"Jade!" Valerie whispered and reflexively stepped in front of the girl. "Don't–"

" _AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

A blast of wind erupted out of Jade's mouth. A gale-force wind that sent every loose object in the room into the air. It hit Drago right in the face and sent him flying back out of the door and smashed into the wall in the hall.

"Gross!" Valerie squealed, having only just managed to keep her feet by holding onto the windowsill. She turned around and gasped when she saw Jade's eyes growing a familiar demonic red. "Crap! Come on!"

They ran out of the room and down the hall. Or rather, Valerie ran. Jade hopped like a frog. With all the adrenaline and fear pumping through her, Valerie thought she felt her left palm twitch. They rounded the corner, but didn't stop. Valerie couldn't quite remember all the twists and turns she'd taken to reach the nurse's office, but she knew the general direction of the main exit.

"We've got to get you to Uncle! You're turning demon-y!"

Jade looked up at her, panicked. "But how?"

"Drago wants the Wind-Demon-Chi. You must've gotten it instead. I don't know how, but we've _really_ got to get it out of you."

"I'm gonna need to see your hall-pass!"

Drago leapt in front of them. Both girls screeched and skidded on the black and white linoleum floor. Valerie reached out automatically with her left hand to grasp anything that could keep her upright. Her hand smacked into Drago's chest.

A burst of electricity shot out from her palm. Valerie screeched with surprise and slight pain. Drago shrieked as he was flung back onto the floor, his shirt singed. The woman swayed, her vision swam. She would have fallen if Jade hadn't reached up and grabbed her wrist.

"This way!"

Stumbling, Valerie let Jade lead her down the hall. They rounded into a set of double glass doors with the word: 'Library' spread across them. As they burst in, the librarian – a balding man with huge glasses but too small eyes – looked up and harshly gestured for them to be quiet. The two girls ran towards the back, and leapt behind the rows of bookcases. Safely concealed within the maze of volumes, they took a moment to catch their breath.

As her dizziness wore off, Valerie tried to fight the panic as she looked down at her scarred hand. What on earth had just happened?!

They heard a crash as Drago burst into the library with a snarl. Valerie expected to hear screams, but all she could make out was the librarian hiss: "Shhh!"

She thumped her head back against the books and whispered under her breath, "If anyone starts humming the Jurassic Park tune, I'll scream."

Jade tugged on her sleeve and pointed to a side door that led back out into the hall. Valerie peered between the spines of their bookcase, and spotted Drago slowly turning the other way.

"We can make a break for it if we run," Jade whispered.

Valerie nodded. "Got be quick and stealthy, then we can–"

 _Ring-ring. Ring-ring._

A hiss. Drago's red eyes snapped to their hiding place.

"Damn it!" Valerie cursed and pulled her phone from her pocket. Drago smashed into their bookcase, and Val pushed the young girl up to get her away from the falling heavy tomes. "Hello?"

" _Valerie? We're right outside the school, what is happening_?"

"Ah!" she yelped to avoid the claws that tried to snatch at her. "Meetusouttheback-willtalklater!"

She pulled the chair out from a table and threw it behind her to make it harder for Drago to follow. In response, a book flew past her head. She gasped and looked over her shoulder to see Drago pick up a stack of books from the return-section. He held a familiar tome in his hand.

"Not the books!" Valerie screeched and put on the breaks. Her scowl was murderous. "That's C.S. Lewis. You don't go shredding the classics!"

" _Shhh_!" went the librarian.

Drago snarled to himself but dropped the book. Instead he picked up a science text book and launched it at them. Valerie yelped and ducked. She hastily followed Jade out.

A crash behind them told her that Drago was following, so she shouted over her shoulder: "I know that if you were my boy I would teach you to respect your education system!"

They came out into the hall, rows of tall lockers stacked from one end to the other. They paused, to try and find the sign that would lead them to the exit. But it was a hesitation that took too long. Jade and Valerie screeched when they felt claws grip the back of their jumpers. They squirmed in Drago's grip, and Drago turned them around so that they could face him. A rumble started and Jade clutched her stomach.

"Stop going on the wrong side, Mom!" he yelled angrily. "Just give me the Chi and I'll be outta your way."

Valerie scowled. "So that you can rule the world? Not happening."

"Then I'll just take–"

 _"_ _Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"_

The burp erupted out of Jade's wide mouth. A hurricane erupted and blasted Drago down the hall. Paper, trash, and even the lockers attached to the walls came free. Valerie was thankful to be behind the blast. When it finally ended, they found Drago squashed and stuck inside a locker, his arms and legs pinned in place.

Valerie couldn't help an amused grin from spreading across her face. "Now you can sit in time out and think about what you've done."

"But MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

She slammed the locker closed.

"Val! Quick!" Jade cried, already at a door. "There's an exit to the playground through here!"

They ran into the playground, thankfully absent of any children. They must've still all been in the cafeteria. They saw the gate leading out into the street and ran for it. Valerie felt her heart drum with the intensity of almost making it.

"Enough of this!"

She cried out when something shoved into her back and knocked her to the ground. She rolled, and it took her several precious seconds to get her bearings as she fought the wave of dizziness and the lack of air in her lungs. Wobbling, she looked up, and her eyes widened with panic when she saw Jade pinned and struggling in Drago's arms. Her back was pressed against his chest, and she couldn't turn her head enough to blast him with air again. A blue glow began to encompass them.

Valerie couldn't help her shriek of panic. "Drago! Don't!"

"Today's lesson," he grinned to himself, "never stand downwind from a Wind-Demon."

Jade struggled furiously. "Get your claws off me!"

"Jade!"

They all turned to look up as a figure vaulted over the side of the wall and landed on top of the playground slide. Jackie gave a wordless war-cry and kicked out his leg. He hit Drago around the face and the Demon fell to the floor, dazed. Jade hopped to the ground, and Jackie shrieked when he saw her.

"Jade! Tell me you've been fooling around with Uncle's spells again!"

"Nope!" she shooked her head vigorously. "I swear!"

" _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao... Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao... Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao..."_

They heard the familiar chant, and Valerie was never more happy to see an old man standing on the shoulders of a sumo on the other side of a wall. Uncle held out his dried puffer-fish, right as Tohru held up an empty glass jar. Drago got up just in time to see the blast that hit Jade and sucked out all of the chi from her with a bright display of blue light. It was over in an instant as Tohru capped the lid of the jar and sealed the evil-chi inside.

"This isn't over!" Drago roared.

Before Jackie or any of the others could try to apprehend him, Drago blasted a wave of fire onto the ground in a large arc. He created a wall of flames that held his enemy at bay for a few precious moments. It was just enough time for him to leap over the opposite wall and disappear from sight. With him gone, Valerie felt her shoulders slump with exhaustion.

"Oh yeah? Then why are _you_ running away?!" A normal looking Jade heckled after him.

"Because," came Uncle's grave tone as Tohru lowered him gently into the playground from the other side of the wall. "Drago knows six other Demons were defeated by Immortal Warriors in ancient times."

"Which means," Tohru said as he poked his head over the top of the wall enough for them to see him. "Six more immortal relics will have traces of demon chi on them."

"And Drago will be seeking them all." Jackie finished.

Jade being Jade, didn't find this at all negative, for she cheered excitedly, "So we'll just have to find them first!"

"Or…" Uncle murmured, "entire world will be under Drago's claw."

"Great." Valerie muttered sarcastically. "Because, you know, I'd missed the whole 'world-is-at-stake' drama."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello guys! I seriously hope you are enjoying this chapter! :D**

 **I wanted to get a couple of things said: Firstly, the ROMANCE! That is still happening, please believe me when I say that I want to get to all the Valerie and Shendu scenes as much as you guys do. But in this story, I wanted to balance it out along with all the other important subplots that will be happening simultaneously. It's all for the greater good, trust me! Though, if it's any consolation, I will be giving you guys a nice big Shendu/Valerie scene next chapter ;)**

 **Secondly, please show support for the TV Tropes page! Olmo is great with providing it for us and for updating it so regularly. Also, there's art for this story. Please go check it out on Deviantart!**

 **Thirdly, a HUGE thanks to InsanityisReality for her wonderful Beta skills.**

 **Fourthly, happy thanks-giving to all my American readers!**


	7. The Paths We Walk

The Paths We Walk

* * *

Drago waited below deck during the night, and surfaced at dawn. The ship was due to arrive at port the next day, and he didn't want to be stuck below for any amount of time then he needed to. Whilst the lousy security guards and fat humans on their cruise would be easy pickings for him to fight through, it would arouse too much attention. The last thing he wanted was to tip off Section 13 or the Chans. Especially with him still being solo.

Before daybreak, when the security was on a shift change, Drago snuck onto the deck and grabbed a load of towels and linens. He wrapped them around himself to be sure no one could see how un-human he looked, and perched himself on one of the sunbeds. To any unsuspecting eye, he would look like a guest that was over-eager to reserve his spot by the pool. Let the idiots think what they want.

Despite his impatience, he had to grin with mischievous delight as the morning wore on and people walked right past him without any clue as to who or what he was. There was something hilariously entertaining about being the fox in the henhouse.

As the ship moved closer to its next destination, Drago felt the hum along his chi-senses. The Water-Demon Chi was close, he could sense it. He could sense all of them, faintly, but they seemed to have an order that burned for his attention one at a time. He didn't know exactly what had caused the Chis to suddenly manifest, or why. In the back of his mind, that was a question he had to figure out. The explosion of Chi he'd felt that fateful night was unlike anything he'd ever experienced or even heard of. But it had revealed to him a destiny, a way for him to rise above even his father's kin and take his rightful place in history.

The only thing standing in his way was the Chan's. He could only hope he was one step ahead of them in this case. Drago was not as foolish as his father to not recognise the threat _all_ the Chan's possessed. Whilst his father had generally dismissed Jade as a mere child, Drago had been on the receiving end of her antics more than once. Each of them was dangerous to his plans, and what's more, they also had his mother on their side.

That was a problem that Drago was trying (unsuccessfully) to mentally deal with. He'd come back to a time where his mother was young, naïve and fighting for the wrong side. In this time-line, she was only a few years older than him – which was kind of creepy to think about. Every time he'd come across her so far, he'd tried to emotionally separate his _mother_ from Valerie Payne. He had to stop thinking of her as the woman who's given birth to him and raised him, and instead see her as just a woman who was currently standing in his way of getting what he wanted. Yeah, _that_ wasn't working so well. No matter what he did, he couldn't stop memories or feelings holding him back. His mother was fighting AGAINST him. For some reason that stirred something inside of him that felt a little torn. It felt like she was betraying him, or that she didn't understand and needed him. It was all so confusing!

He had to get rid of that thought. The logical part of him said that his mother didn't know him here, no matter how much he might wish that she was back from his world and knew everything about him and would understand. That same logical part of him also argued the laws of the time-space-continuum. If Drago was never conceived and born, he would pop out of existence, the same would happen if either his mother or father died before that happened. Yet as it stood, his father was encased in stone and his mother appeared to be giving her husband the silent treatment and the metaphorical 'sleep on the couch'. The question then presented itself: How to win his mother over, and get her to be with his father so that Drago could be conceived?

Drago shuddered. Well, _that_ was a mental image he really didn't want to have.

 _"_ _The ship will be arriving in port in 10 minutes. We hope you enjoy your Polanyisian adventure on Boru this afternoon. But hurry back, because Mumbo madness begins at 4 sharp!"_

The droning voice over the speakers broke Drago from his thoughts and he looked out over the railing. The island was practically within reach, and the hum along Drago's veins was practically a noticeable tingle all across his scales. It was time. Uncaring if anyone on the emptying ship was watching, Drago threw aside his cover and jumped up onto the railing.

He grinned out at the tropical island. "This time, the Chi's all mine."

* * *

Safe to say that Valerie had NOT volunteered to go to some island in the middle of the ocean, where she would be of no help to anyone. The gourd the water demon had popped up on one of Jade's favourite TV shows of all things. Valerie had opted to sit this one out. Besides, the competition that Jade had entered everyone into only allowed four members, not five.

And she had something important she really needed to discuss with a certain _someone_.

Jade had most certainly rubbed off on her in all the wrong ways, Valerie concluded as she marched into Section 13. Thanks to the child, she somehow had taken note of when the guards changed their rotation, changed shift, and which routes would leave her the least resistance. Also, Captain Black had still not changed his 007 password to the vault. It was almost too easy to break in and close the door behind her so that no one knew she was in there.

They really needed to fix that problem. If they didn't, someone on the wrong side of their little war might be able to break in and steal something important.

A hum across her sixth sense made her aware that Shendu was watching her. The scar along her left palm tingled, but she tried to ignore it. She couldn't let him unnerve her, she had to keep her resolve and stay focused on her task. Though that being said, her heart was suddenly beating a little too fast, she felt like a rabbit that had been cornered by the fox. With all that in mind, she did her best steel her nerves and turn to face him.

Shendu watched her from behind his bars. Red eyes glowed in the stone face. She could feel his eyes follow her every step as she slowly came towards him.

"We need to talk."

The bright red eyes flashed at her. The serpentine voice hissed all around her. "Ahhh, so _now_ you feel the inclination to speak with me."

"Only when it's something important."

"What _you_ deem important." He countered haughtily. " _I_ however, might think differently."

Valerie growled in exasperation. "For goodness sakes, are we five?"

"You're the one who has been avoiding me, Valerie. You are the one that has shown the childish behaviour thus far."

"Are you going to talk with me, or not?"

There was a moment of silence. Valerie thought he would actually refuse her. But then he spoke, and his eyes took on an amused glint. "Only if you come closer. I want to see you…"

She chewed her lip, and deliberated taking a step backwards just to piss him off. Yet she knew that wouldn't get her anywhere. Besides, she didn't know exactly how long she had left to talk in here before someone came looking. Begrudgingly, she stepped stiffly forward. The electrical hum that sparked between her and Shendu only grew the closer she drew. Valerie was reminded of her wedding day, of feeling the electricity spark between them, consuming her with yearning for proximity and growing desire. A quick shake of her head banished such thoughts as she steeped right in front of Shendu's stone nose.

"Ah, _that's_ better." Damn him, she could _hear_ the smug smirk in his voice. "Now, what did you want to discuss?"

"The demon chi." She said tightly. "What do you know about it?"

"I can feel the calls of my brothers and sisters, their energies have infected the world and seeped into these ancient artefacts that you seek."

"Why now? What's causing them to come out all at once?"

"I don't know… yet."

Valerie cocked a brow. "Yet?"

"I have a working hypothesis." The demon sorcerer seemed rather withdrawn for someone who relished lording over his superior knowledge to others. For added measure, his glowing red eyes fixed her with a pointed look. "One which I'm not ready to discuss yet."

She conceded his point. Guess-work was useless to her right now anyway. The tension in the room was doing nothing for her nerves, so she forced herself to relax and talk a little calmer. "Fine. What will happen if Drago gets his claws on all eight powers?"

"Your imagination can tell you that," he replied grimly.

"Well, how do we stop him?"

"It is not a case of stopping him, it is about finding the correct vessel." Shendu explained in that ever-assured tone that made it appear as if he knew everything and could convince you of it. "Chi flows through all things in the universe. Did it never occur to you that these chi's were not just floating in mid-air? They attached themselves to something because they need a host to cling to and settle."

Valerie tapped her chin with a finger in thought. "So, the demon powers won't just go away over time, they'll keep themselves active until they find a proper host?"

"Precisely. Though that in itself will be difficult."

"Why?"

"My siblings possess only dark chi about them, so if you were to place their dark chi inside a mortal vessel, that vessel would soon become corrupted and tainted to more match the power that now inhabited it. Drago is made of both light chi, as well as already having his own dark chi. Only someone such as he or another demon would be able to handle the power and not be changed by it."

"So how do we get rid of them?"

"Short of opening a portal to the Nether-realm and casting the powers back to their original owners? I'd say there's not much you can do."

"Great." She muttered sarcastically. "But what if Drago gets them? What then?"

"Drago is a demon unlike anything I have encountered. He is made of both light and dark, he does not lack one or the other like most demons and other supernatural beings. He is the offspring of two completed Others. My guess is that once all eight powers have combined within him, nothing will be able to remove them."

Valerie looked away at the floor, one hand combing through her hair in an attempt to work out her anxiety. None of this was anything she hadn't already speculated. If anything, all it did was confirm how hopeless their current situation was. Something in her must have given away her worry, for she felt an alien sense of comfort envelop her in a soothing warmth. For some reason, she knew it was Shendu, he reached out to her and offered her wordless support to banish her fears. She didn't know how he had such control over this connection between them, and frankly a lot of it was a mystery to her. But those were questions for another time. Right now, something far more pressing had been weighing on her mind that she couldn't get rid of.

"Do you believe Drago?" she asked quietly. "Do you think he is really our son from the future?"

"Do you not?"

"I don't know what to believe. Biology tells me a person can only be created under very specific circumstances. I mean, I wouldn't be here, the same person that I am, if my parents conceived me a day earlier or later than they did."

"I was inside Drago's mind. I recognised within him the same chi that is within me." Shendu paused, before he spoke quietly and softly: "And I know he's yours. Your eyes are the exact same shape."

Valerie's eyes darted away, and damn it, why did a blush have to suddenly rise in her cheeks? She fought it, along with all the emotions and questions that came with it. For any distraction, she asked the first thing that came to mind. "I thought people couldn't travel back in time to where they already existed? All the movies and fiction tell us that to meet yourself would be a tear in the time-space-continuum."

"Nonsense." Shendu snorted. "There is no rule stating that one mustn't meet one's self in the past for fear of destroying the universe. In the past, your ancestors, and yourself for that matter, are simple sacks of meat in the eyes of the cosmos. In any case, when one travels through time, they do not travel to their own literal past."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it logically. If you, at this moment, went back twenty minutes into the past, and met yourself, you would change your own current memories as your past self was making them. Thus, you'd constantly be changing yourself with all the things the past changed during your visit."

Valerie nodded, her mind whirling with Shendu's encouraging prods. "That would make sense. If you went back in time to prevent a certain event and succeeded, you'd create a glitch, because in fixing the mistake, you therefore fixed the reason you ever went back in time in the first place."

"Exactly. So, when Drago travelled from the future, he didn't travel into his exact past life. Instead, he went through the walls of time into an ever so slight parallel dimension."

"Able to interact but have no impact!"

"Indeed. Usual consequences would be the same, such as if either one of us were to die before conceiving him, he would cease to exist. But other decisions are now free to be made by him without effecting his current state."

"So, him being here, telling us what happened to him – that's not a self-fulfilling prophecy?"

"The future is an uncertain mess. There are many roads that we can walk, with many branching paths that criss-cross over each other depending on which choices we make in the present. Some paths are wider and stronger than others, but not one of them is set in stone. It is all subject to change."

The human woman mulled those words over in her mind for a long while in silence. Could it be true? Was her future still open to her? It felt a little more comforting to be assured that. Yet at the same time, she couldn't help but feel confused as to their current state if the future was still so open. Where did that leave her now?

"Valerie," Shendu's voice called to her. She must have drifted off in thought, and so was brought back to the present sharply. His voice was soft, almost whispered to her. "Has it not occurred to you that whilst some paths are subject to change, the one bound you and me, is not?"

Instantly she drew up every wall she had to prevent anything escaping her. "I don't know what you mean…"

"If Drago's existence is any indication, then it must mean that somehow you and I are together. It is inevitable."

"You just finished saying the future is not set in stone!"

"But something must be there. If there was no hope, then Drago would pop out of existence right now."

The bitterness was easily detected in her tone when she spat her response. "I will not be the puppet of fate, Shendu. If there will be any decisions, they will be made by me, because I want them to happen."

"Do you find me so repulsive, then?" he retorted harshly.

"After everything you did to me? After you betrayed me?! How you–"

She cut herself off. She couldn't get into this rant right now. She had to keep reminding herself that it would do no good. To tell Shendu of all the ways he'd emotionally hurt her before? Why she was so conflicted over him? All it would do was make him ask questions that she really wasn't prepared to face at the moment. But apparently, she didn't need to say anything. From the way Shendu's glowing eyes were watching her, he seemed to partly know of what she was eluding to.

When he spoke, his words were carefully hushed. "Valerie, it was all done for love of you."

"It was a funny way of showing it." She muttered and fought the sting in the back of her eyes. She threw him a look, and shook her head. "If you love someone, you're supposed to care about them, about their feelings. You're supposed to trust one another, be happy with and for one another. It's not a selfish game of possession. Love is selfless. About giving up everything about yourself to see someone else happy. How could _you_ understand that?"

Shendu's statue hung there in silence, red eyes fixed on her. For some reason, she got the impression that Shendu was a little taken aback by her words. Surely, he couldn't have been entirely clueless to what he'd done? He must have been aware but never fully understood the consequences of his actions. Yet even if that were the case, Valerie was not here to explain everything out to him. But the way he was looking at her, it almost made her want to stay, to tell him everything, to have it all off of her chest.

That couldn't happen though. The back of her hand quickly dabbed against her eyes to wipe away any stray tears. Hurriedly, so as not to get caught in this rabbit-hole she seemed to constantly be falling into with him, she turned and went to leave. "I have to go."

"Valerie," his voice called and made her stop momentarily to hear his plea. "Return to me soon."

"No promises."

* * *

 _That night, Valerie dreamed. In that half space between dreams and waking, where there was the eternal black tunnel that stretched on and on to lead you into deep sleep. In that unending darkness, she stayed, suddenly claustrophobic, but knew the space was infinite. She floated on nothing, but her feet touched ground. Sounds echoed all around her, yet were quiet as whispers with no origin._

 _Warm air brushed along her arm. As if weighted down in oil and tar, her movements were slow and sluggish, yet they felt effortless and free at the same time. She turned and realised that she was stood next to Shendu. He was as she remembered, in his new body, out of his stone-prison. His red eyes found hers, his chest moved up and down with his deep breaths. Valerie felt her left palm ache to touch him. But she repressed it._

 _"_ _Even here, you don't leave me," she murmured to herself._

 _Being a dream, Shendu seemed to know what she said anyway. "Why would I want to?"_

 _Valerie looked away. Fatigue in her soul made her eyes fall in resignation. It had always been about Shendu. What he wanted, he did his best to get, no matter who else was in his way. On one hand, Valerie secretly admired his determination. Yet on the other, she wished he didn't do it to disregard others and their welfare. Perhaps if he hadn't things wouldn't be so tense between them._

 _As if he could sense her thoughts, Shendu's demeanour shifted. His posture slumped ever so slightly, and his voice was tired and quiet. "Do_ _ **you**_ _want me to?"_

 _She looked up at him, wondering why her dream-self wouldn't come up with her usual defensive reply. And then she realised she couldn't lie. Instead she looked around at the inky darkness that swirled about them like oil in water. "It's very lonely in here…"_

 _"_ _That's the way of the world."_

 _"_ _Can't argue there."_

 _Shendu glanced her way, and his eyes were all she could see. They were hellish and dangerous, yet warm and soothing. His voice encompassed her, and once more she felt the need in her hands to reach out to him._

 _As if he mirrored her need, he reached out to her, as if to stroke her face with the backs of his fingers. Yet just before he could touch her, he stopped. His hand lowered to his side, but his voice was just as gentle. "Then find me if you need me…"_

Valerie awoke, and blinked stupidly in the dim light of her apartment. Disorientated, she looked over to the clock on her night-stand, where it read 6:35am. For a moment, she debated with herself whether or not to go back to sleep. Warmth encompassed her and she wasn't needed at the antique shop until Uncle returned with the others from abroad. In the end she declined sleep and instead pulled out her current reading material: The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis (which she had-not-so-subtly asked Jade to rent from her school library after the whole Drago and the wind demon Chi incident).

After an hour curled up under the blankets with a good book, Valerie slowly unwound herself and began to potter around her apartment in search of breakfast. Whilst she kept herself busy, she flicked on the television and half-listened to it as background noise. However, she completely stopped what she was doing when she heard a familiar programme come on.

It was a re-run of the previous night's episode. She'd been too busy with Shendu to watch it live. Now, she was rooted in place as she watched Jackie, Jade, Tohru and Uncle battle Drago live on television for the power of the water demon chi. She watched Drago absorb the power, and to attempt to create a tidal wave with his new-found ability. Shendu's words echoed through Valerie's mind and she bit her nails anxiously. But just a few minutes later, before anyone could really get hurt, Uncle showed up and extracted the chi from Drago. When all of it was said and done, Valerie thought that maybe this would prove to the world that magic and demons exist, but instead, a presenter made a comment on how great their special effects were. _Typical_.

The credits began to roll, but Valerie still stood there, thinking quietly to herself. Drago's need for these Demon Chi's had yet to be explained to her, because none of it seemed to add up. He claimed she was his mother, and whilst her resolve against the claim was shrinking into normalcy (even for the Chans _THAT_ proclamation was still initially abnormal), but then she had to wonder why. Valerie couldn't imagine herself in any universe where she betrayed everything she'd ever known in order to raise the next evil overlord. Why would she encourage such evil behaviour in her son? What happened to her in the future to cause such a drastic change? Or if not, what happened to Drago to make him turn out this way?

Yet perhaps even a question more important than any of those, was the one she hadn't gotten an answer out of Shendu yesterday. What had caused the sudden appearance of the demon chi? Uncle claimed it was the bad-chi stars. But that couldn't just be it.

It couldn't all be a coincidence, could it?

* * *

At that exact same time, half way across the world, someone else was thinking the exact same thing.

Nat Homato frowned as she tried to concentrate on her meditation. Legs crossed, back straight and stiff, the red-headed woman attempted to find a place of calm, to open her mind. It was all about relaxation, about finding peace and tranquillity…

So naturally, she hated it.

The old, short Japanese man sat next to her was the only thing that prevented her from getting to her feet and storming out to kill the nearest hell-spawn she could find. But no. She had far too much respect for her grandfather to do that to him. Not to mention the fact that he'd probably whack her knees with his cane should she misbehave in such a fashion.

Once more, she tried to concentrate on relaxing, but it was hard to do. Her body was just begging for some kind of action. Without her say-so, her leg began to bob up and down with a trapped nerve. She growled and forced it to keep still. A green eye darted open to check she hadn't disturbed her grandfather. Nothing. Good. She tried again.

An itch had formed in the back of her skull. Her brow felt her and her nose twitched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. A sense of dread, of the shiver that comes with the dark swept across her skin. It was horrible, and so strong and sudden that Nat couldn't help it. Despite all her conditioning and training, a shiver ran up her spine and made her tremble.

"Yes," her grandfather droned out quietly. "You feel it also. A great disturbance has unbalanced the universe."

Nat fidgeted. Usually her grandfather was never wrong, but she always hoped there would be a first time. "Might just be a chill…"

"I remember there being a 'chill' not so long ago, when great evil had sought to enter our world…"

Nat's green eyes snapped open. Holy smokes, her grandfather was right. Again. There was only one other time that she'd felt this disturbed. That was when the Demon Sorcerers had tried to return to the world. If something equally disturbing was now at work, it could only mean one possible thing.

She grinned. She'd be getting her action after all. "I have to go."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I thought I would give this chapter to you guys for my Birthday! ^-^ 23 years old now! Yay! Happy birthday to me!**

 **Special thanks to InsanityisReality for being an amazing Beta and getting back to me as quick as she did.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and please don't forget to leave a review.**


	8. Flower Power

Flower Power

* * *

Two Demon Chi's activated so far, and Drago had lost both of them. That wasn't on. Not one bit. Unlike his father who always gave up after he lost a talisman or artefact to the Chans, Drago wouldn't sit idly by.

Time to release the inner Tom Cruise. It's Mission Impossible time!

He scuttled along the ceiling of Section 13, his claws allowing him to cling to the air-vents and crawl with ease. The tingle of protection spells passed along his scales, but they were old and didn't affect him. The Chans had stored many a priceless magical artefact here in the past, they hadn't bothered to update them. Being a product of good and bad chi, Drago could pass through the spells meant to ward of strictly bad-chi-only unscathed.

A security guard was all that stood in his way to the vault doors. He waited for the moment the chubby lump was distracted by a batch of donuts, and slipped to the floor behind him. The moment the guy turned around, he got a good look at big-green-and-scaly right in the face.

"You look tired," Drago cooed. "Why don't you knock off early?"

One punch sent the man flying to the other side of the room, unconscious. Satisfied, the young demon practically skipped his way to the Vault door. The guard's security card opened it up with far too much ease. And low and behold, the demon chi was sat there, floating in a beautiful fish tank, ready for the taking.

Drago stepped into the vault, and immediately felt the eyes of his father bore into him from the opposite wall. " _Drago._ " The stone dragon hissed.

"Dad," Drago retorted, then grinned. "Bad news, vault needs a face lift, and these demon-chi-beauties gotta go – with me. Sorry to disappoint. Oh wait, no actually, I'm not."

Perhaps it was the sense of victory that had him gloating. Whatever it was, in hindsight, it probably wasn't a good idea. Shendu's anger manifested into the room and made the very beams of the building tremble at his wrath. It was a swift kick in the butt to remind Drago that despite the fact that his father was imprisoned in a stone casing, he was far from helpless. He was a completed half, and the power of such a creature was vast and unknown even to Drago.

And of course, his dad's little tantrum had to be rewarded with unwanted attention.

"Ah, Jade… what are you doing out of…" groaned a voice. Drago turned just as Jackie Chan strolled into the vault, still in his pyjamas. Upon seeing the demon, the human's eyes lost all hints of sleep and widened. "Argh! Drago!"

"Did I wake you, sleepy-head?" a fire ball lit into Drago's palm, a twisted grin lighting up his features. "So sorry!"

"Hey Jackie," came a second tired voice as little Jade, in a pink nighty, strolled into the vault rubbing her eyes. "What are you doing out of – _argh!_ Drago!"

He launched the fireball at them. Jackie picked Jade up and ran with her, barely avoiding the blast. They ducked behind the door, but Chan appeared a second later, alone, and launched himself at Drago. The two fought, exchanging punches for kicks and vice versa.

Jackie smirked. "Have you come to Section 13 to turn yourself in?"

"In your dreams, Chan!" Drago snarled.

He leapt and spun into a round-house kick that caught Chan completely off-guard and hurtled him across the room. The human groaned, and didn't appear to be ready to get back up any time soon. Drago grinned and turned back to the container in the centre of the room.

"Haven't you forgotten someone, dear boy?" called the smug voice of Shendu.

Drago frowned, but the question was immediately answered. Alarms blared and red lights flashed. Within moments, dozens of Section 13 troops were streaming into the vault, led by none other than Captain Black.

Black aimed his gun right for the demon's chest. "You're surrounded, Drago! Game's over."

"Over?" Drago echoed, eyes scanning the room. Too many. Even with his skills, Drago couldn't take on that many men, that many guns, all at once. He covered with an overconfident smirk, fire blazing into his hand once more. "I'm just gettin' warmed up!"

He threw the fire onto the floor and allowed the magic to seep into his bones and carry him away with it. His particles remained separated, like dust held close to one another only by the strong wind that carried it. When he felt the time right, he pulled himself back together in a blaze of fire, safely away far from Section 13 in an alleyway.

Frustration coursed through him. He threw back his head and roared.

" _Argh!_ Surrounded! Outnumbered!" he seethed. Fire licked along his veins, sparked across his scales and ignited into life in his palm. "Going in alone was stupid. I see that now. 'Never go anywhere without backup'." He repeated to himself. It was a lesson he'd taught himself from a very early age…

The fire shot from his hand and stuck to the pavement. In the flames, images twisted and morphed into being to reflect back to him his mind's eye. The enforcers of the Dark Hand stood before him, taken straight from one of his Mother's old memories. He contemplated the image for a moment. He needed support when on missions. If he kept going solo, he would always lose to the Chans simply because they had the ability to flank him.

But not those three goons. He'd always heard stories of how utterly incompetent they were. No, they simply would not do. He banished the image, and in its place, the fire rose and grew until the image of his huge father loomed over him.

Drago's eyes narrowed at the imposing image, how it demonstrated how his father had always looked down on him. "But I will not repeat your mistakes, father. I will find the biggest, badest henchmen in the world! And fulfil my destiny…"

* * *

Valerie was practically skipping to Section 13, the small box held securely in her hands. She'd been waiting all week for this! And now Saturday was here and it was going to be _so_ good. It was Jade's birthday! She was certain that Jackie had plenty of things planned, but Valerie hoped there would be time for them to go out and see a movie. Her dad always, without fail, had taken her to the cinema for her birthday, even as she'd grown up. She wanted to continue that tradition with Jade.

She knew Jackie would be okay with it – he could come to! And so the young woman strolled through the government facility, determined to not let anything get in the way of her big plans for the day.

And then she came to the vault…

Jackie was talking with Captain Black right outside, Uncle and Tohru busy with what looked like smearing a potion over the door to the vault. Valerie frowned. "What's going on here?"

Jackie and Captain Black turned to look at her. Jackie grimaced a little. "We… had a break in last night. Drago tried to steal the Demon Chi."

"He _what?!"_

Captain Black held up a hand. "No need for alarm. He didn't get any this time."

Valerie didn't seem convinced and threw him a look. "Really, Black? Demon's break out of your prison, then break back _into_ it? Not to mention the wizards, spirits and dragons before that. I think the security needs to be amped up – like, _majorly_."

The agent's eyes twitched a little. "We're doing all we can, Valerie. But as of yet, no one's actually gotten out of Section 13 with any of our artefacts yet."

"Emphasis on the _yet_."

"I'm installing heat and motion sensors so our fiery friend can't pay us another visit."

"And we have Uncle making better protection spells," Jackie explained. "Drago doesn't seem to be affected by the spells that worked on his father. So we're casting new ones that will be targeted just at him."

"Speaking of which…" Black muttered and turned to Uncle and Tohru. "That magic-maguffin ready yet?"

The old man snapped without even turning to look at them. "Do not interrupt Uncle about maguffin-man! Do not know him!"

"Oh! There you are!" exclaimed a chipper voice. Valerie and Jackie turned in time to see Jade skip down the hall towards her. Her excited grin was far too big on her little face. "What's everybody doing?"

"Is the vault stable now?" asked Captain Black, completely ignoring Jade's entrance.

Uncle huffed over his shoulder. "You want demon chi kept safe? Yes? Then let Uncle work without looki-loos!"

"Hellooooooooooo?" Jade called. "Anybody wanna say something?"

Tohru smiled down to the child. "Good morning, Jade."

"Is that all…?" The girl's confused look was guilt inducing. "Don't you know what today is?"

"I do," Valerie beamed. "Happ–"

"Hotcha! Very important day!" Uncle exclaimed and turned around to grin at them all. "Day for Uncle's haircut!"

"Ah, come on." Jade snickered. "You _know_ it's my birthday! Now, for breakfast, I want chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream and strawberries and–"

"I'm sorry, Jade," Jackie said softly, kneeling in front of his niece. "Things are a little busy around Section 13 this morning. We will have to celebrate your birthday later."

"WHAT?!" Jade shouted, her expression crestfallen. "How much later?!"

Even Valerie sent the man a glare. "Not cool, Jackie. It's her birthday for crying out loud."

At least he had the decency to look a little ashamed. "Ehhhh… just be patient."

Jade looked to the floor, her hurt expression enough to break Valerie's heart. She knelt by her little friend, and offered an encouraging smile. She brandished her box wrapped in bright moose-world themed wrapping paper and held it out for Jade to take.

"Happy Birthday, trouble." She said. Jade looked surprised, and a smile broke out when Valerie ruffled her hair. "Look, they might be busy, but I'm not. How about you and I go see a movie? My treat."

Jade took the present, her grin enough to make Valerie feel light and high on energy. The honey brown eyes sparkled as the child unwrapped her present, to reveal a photo album and a small camera. "Thanks, Val! I–"

"I say we see Zombie-Punch! None of that rom-com crap."

Every pair of eyes darted up at the sound of the new voice. Valerie felt her jaw hit the floor when she beheld the familiar ponytail of red hair and bright green eyes dressed in clichéd black leather with a katana sword slung across her back.

"Nat?!" several voices asked at once.

She smirked. "That's my name, don't wear it out."

Jackie gaped, eyes as wide and round as saucers. "B-but… what are you doing here?"

"Heard you guys were havin' some kind of demon trouble. Again. Thought I'd pop in, show you rookies how it's done."

" _Aiya_!" Uncle screeched and spun to face the redhead. "Rookie?! Tell pre-tween she can keep her snotty nose out of Uncle's business!"

"And miss rubbin' my success in your face? Never." It was only then that Nat seemed to eye what stood behind everyone in the vault. She took a step forward, green eyes suddenly serious and narrowed on the containment unit. "Hey, what's with swirling-magic-looking thingy-bobs?"

"It's demon chi." Tohru provided. "A shred of power from the original Demon Sorcerers."

"Urgh, then why the hell haven't you exorcised it? Destroyed it?"

"Ha! Show's what you know!" Uncle grinned smugly. "Evil cannot be destroyed – there must be balance! And magic is not so easily taken care of."

Valerie nodded. "Laws of physics: energy doesn't really die, it just transfers. We try to destroy these, and we might just only make them go into something else."

Nat looked over at the blonde for the first time, a corner of her lips twitching upwards in a lopsided smile. Valerie would have been pleased, had the demon-hunter not then muttered under her breath: "Still a know-it-all…"

"You're still a psycho." She shot back.

"Okay," Nat said, rocking on the balls of her feet. "So who wants the chi?"

"Shendu's son… Drago."

"Drago? Original name." Nat snorted sarcastically. Her green eyes landed on the statue that hung behind bars on the other side of the vault. Fingers twitching, Nat paused. Valerie felt something coil in dread in her stomach. But just as quickly, the intense look was broken and Nat grinned to Jackie. "Right. I'm in."

"Wicked!" Jade cheered. "Does this mean you're gonna stay Nat? Really?"

"Only if we go see Zombie-Punch."

"Deal!"

Jackie quickly leapt in, hands in the air to stall them. "Oh, wait! Hold on…"

Valerie let the group bicker over the choice of movie. For some reason the coiling dread in her stomach wouldn't dissipate. It had looked like Nat had wanted to smash Shendu's statue apart herself and kill him off. That didn't sit well with her, and so she reluctantly drew herself away to the other side of the room. It was a risky move, to sneak away when everyone could see her if she turned around. But she needed to speak with him. When she stood next to him, her back to the wall, she tried to glance at him over her shoulder.

"Shendu?" she whispered. "You there?"

"No." he muttered to her sarcastically. "I grew my legs back and took a stroll."

She had the urge to poke her tongue out at him. "Very funny. You know what happened last night?"

"No."

Valerie frowned. "You were in the same room when Drago broke in."

"Doesn't mean I saw anything different then what you already know. He came in, he was thwarted, he left."

"Sounds like somebody's a little bitter."

Red eyes burned indignantly. "Bitter?"

Despite everything, Valerie found a little spark inside her giddy with glee at the thought of getting one over him. "Well, wouldn't blame you. After all, Drago broke into Section 13 for the Demon Chi… not you."

"A fact the boy will pay dearly for when the time comes!" he hissed.

"What, you'll stone him to death?" she snickered. "You had that coming."

"Val–!"

He was cut off when a green light suddenly erupted on the other side of the room. Uncle's chi-o-matic blazed green and shot an orc into the air. Inside the orb, a swirling mass or storm-clouds gathered, shapes and pictures indistinct. Valerie drifted closer, breath held in anticipation for what they all might see.

" _Aiya_! Demon Chi has been activated!" Uncle shouted.

"No way!" Jade groaned. "Not on my birthday!"

Nat shot the girl a look. "Evil don't rest, kid."

The clouds in the green vision swirled and parted and revealed the monstrous brown, lion headed, horned demon. "Dai Gui! The earth demon!"

"The flower of the immortals…" Tohru murmured as the image of a red flower appeared. "The demon chi is trapped within."

The vision changed again and showed the picture of a rather iconic looking bridge. Jackie gasped. "The Coronado Bridge in San Diego!" Even as the words left his mouth, he turned to his niece, disappointedly. "Sorry, Jade. Your birthday celebration will have to wait just a little longer."

"That's okay… we can party in San Diego!" Jade cheered rather loudly and turned to her blonde friend. "Val! You comin'?"

* * *

Drago hadn't been kidding when he meant to find henchmen. But he was still a little taken aback that you could put an anonymous add in the newspaper and people would just sign up for "auditions", as it were.

The junkyard he'd been staying in wasn't exactly the best headquarters, but he'd kind of just never moved out of it. So now it was his place, for the time being, he decided to hold the auditions there. Almost a dozen people turned up, from acrobats to body builders to cowboys.

Three hours of embarrassment later, and Drago was no closer to finding any good henchmen, and instead just had a bunch idiots wanting to get their big break. The demon was not exactly in the mood to deal with this now, and was about to roast all those in attendance, when a voice shouted from the top of one of the piles of cars.

"Yo, dude!" said a nasally voice. Drago could just make out three teenagers around his own age geared up in black with skateboards. "You seen the rest, now eyeball the _be-hest!"_

They boarded down the cars and piles of junk at lightning speed, and as if to demonstrate how utterly incompetent their competition was, they annihilated them. A mixture of martial arts, street fighting and skate boarding. Their skills were versatile, quick, and they were able to change between them on the fly. Not to mention, they were nasty. Drago could see it in their eyes, even when they held rather bland or serious expressions: they enjoyed hurting people. And within a minute, their foes were down on the ground, and they stood still and true without even breaking a sweat.

Drago thought he could learn to like this.

The smallest of the lot, a blonde boy with bright blue eyes flicked a fly. "So, we got the gig, or what?"

Drago didn't quite like his tone or the way he generally spoke, but figured they could get past that. "What's your name?"

"They call me Strikemaster Ice. This here's my crew." Said the blonde. He motioned to a big burly boy on his right, who had to at one point in his life played on the school football team. "DJ Fist," he then pointed to his left, to a lanky boy with a narrow-pointed face and a nose piercing. "and MC Cobra."

Before Drago could speak, he felt a shiver race over his scales and steal away his concentration. His breath caught and his vision clouded over. In his mind's eye, he saw his uncle Dai Gui, the earth demon, pound the ground until it split and yawned open beneath his power. From it, a large red flower appeared. And just as quickly as it had come, the vision was gone.

He was brought back to the present right as Strikemaster Ice gave him a perplexed look. "Yo! Geko-boy be buggin'!"

"It's near…" Drago eyed his new associates coolly. "let's go."

"Yo, hold up, dog." They didn't follow, Ice's hand held up to stop everything. "Now we don't work for free. You want our services? You gots to show some _green!_ "

Drago turned a shot a bolt of fire from his hands. It engulphed the three teenagers, making the yelp when they thought they were about to imminently be burned alive. But nothing of the sort happened. Drago felt a portion of his inner fire be sapped from him and shared out to the three. It wasn't enough to register any significant change in him, but it made a hell of a difference to them. Their ears and hair grew pointed, their skin erupted in green scales, muscles bulged and fingers mutated into serrated claws.

"You each now have a small piece of my fire-demon power." Drago explained. "Dragon speed, dragon strength, and dragon breath."

Flames burst from Ice's mouth. The youth grinned. "That'll work."

"You're on the clock now. And we have demon chi to claim."

* * *

"Okay," Valerie said somewhat impatiently in the car. "Can someone please explain to me how a flower – a _FLOWER_ – managed to survive the last several hundred years without wilting, decaying, dying or being picked, trampled or otherwise destroyed?"

"Demon magic," Jade supplied. "Duh."

Valerie shot the overly-full car a sharp look. "Okay then, how about the fact that we're _all_ going on this crazy trip and no one is staying behind for Jade's birthday? I mean, come on, guys! I had the whole day planned out and everything!"

Nat snorted. "Nobody asked you to come."

Valerie shifted uncomfortably. Jackie had done his best to bring Nat up to speed on the journey over to San Diego, but there was _one_ important detail he had forgotten to mention. And for that reason, Valerie really didn't feel like elaborating. "Drago is my problem to solve."

Nat's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Demon-Chi is very close!" Uncle announced and they quickly stopped the car to clamber out.

Jackie looked a little relieved – probably because, as Valerie had noticed, there seemed to be no sign of Drago just yet. "Then all we have to do is find the… flower."

Valerie's shoulders slumped. "You've got to be kidding…"

The chi-o-matic had brought them right to a flower shop.

"Chi's a flower," Nat shrugged. "What'd you expect? It's not gonna be all alone in a desert. Too easy. You seen Indiana Jones? It's never easy."

"On that account, I'd have to agree…"

They all spun. Drago and three teenage boys blocked the doorway they had just come through. Valerie recoiled when she saw the distorted reptilian features on the human faces. It was as if Drago had tried to make clones of himself. Nat immediately brought out her Katana, and glanced to her companions for an explanation.

"Drago," Tohru supplied for her.

Jackie frowned. "And… Strikemaster Ice?"

"Who?" Valerie asked.

"Fought 'em once before while you were gone." Jade grinned. "Looks like Pizza-face got a Drago-makeover!"

"Yo dog," said the smallest of the youths, who looked like the leader of the three. "You didn't say nothin' 'bout puttin' the hurt on Chan. First day on the job, and we gettin' a bonus!"

"Oh no," Valerie deadpanned. "It talks. Make it stop!"

The three dragon-teenagers charged. Jackie, Tohru and Nat leapt to intercept them. Valerie yanked Jade back beside Uncle out of the way. She was wide eyed and shocked to see the three newcomers able to go toe-to-toe with the Chans. That was something she'd never seen done before. The burliest of the lot took on Tohru, and as if on steroids was able to shove him across the room. The tallest, and by far the quickest, traded blows with Nat, able to keep pace with her flurry of moves. And the short leader was able to kick Jackie aside, so that the man fell too close to Valerie and Jade.

The one Valerie guessed was called 'Ice' stood over Jackie. "This'a be worth it, Chan. Gotta look good infron'a my new homie."

Valerie rushed forward and planted herself in between Jackie and slapped Ice across the face. "If you're going to gloat – speak properly."

"Outta the way, doll!" Ice scowled at her. "I ain't got no time fo yo hatin'."

She threw him a deadpan look. "Sorry. I can't take that ridiculous voice seriously. And what kind of name is _Strikemaster Ice_?"

Ice looked incredulous. "Yo, what are ya, my mother?!"

He threw a punch at her, but a large clawed hand snatched up his wrist in mid-air. Drago loomed next to his henchmen, a disapproving scowl twisting his lips. "No. She's _my_ mother."

A flash of black slapped both teenagers aside with a vicious round-house kick. They fell, and Nat landed where they had stood. Jackie got up and threw himself back into the fight. The demon huntress was about to follow, when she stopped and looked back at Valerie.

"Wait, what?!"

Before Val could answer, a tail wrapped itself around Nat's wrist and yanked her off her feet. Valerie quickly stumbled back and turned to push Jade towards Uncle – who had retreated into the back of the store. "Come on! Let's hurry this up!"

Meanwhile, Nat found her feet, and squared off against the half-demon, Katana in hand. Drago grinned down at her, his eyes travelling up and down her long body. "You're new. Maybe you should get out while you can, go back to the cat-walk."

Nat's eyes hardened. "What?"

"The 'sexy-bad-girl' look is a little much, don't you think?"

"Shut up and die!" she yelled and swung her sword.

Drago twisted out of its way, and immediately countered by kicking her sword hand back upwards. He followed it up with a jab aimed for her stomach, but she leaned to sweep it aside with her other arm. Whilst she was unbalanced, Drago spun and meant to take out her legs with his tail. But the huntress leapt up and launched her foot for his face. He caught it, almost as if he'd expected it.

Nat grew confused. It was almost as if the demon knew what move she'd do next, as if he'd seen her fight a thousand times, or had trained to fight her style specifically. She couldn't think about it any longer, before he shoved her away and she landed in a crouch several feet away.

Drago's grin was condescending. "Not bad… for a girl."

"That's it!"

She ran at him, swinging her sword in figures of eight in front of her. Drago retreated, and plucked several flowers from the rows of arrangements as he went. His expression became hard with concentration, but he still had that irritating mocking tone.

He held up each flower to his nose, only to be disappointed and then present it to her. "Chi loves me… chi loves me not!" Nat replied by slicing each plant in two. The tip of her blade nicked his finger.

Drago yelled in pain – more so than he should have done from the smallest cut. The edge of his wound glowed faintly before dissipating. Nat threw him a reflection of his earlier smirk. "Like that? I got an upgrade whilst I was away – the sword's full anti-demon magic."

The half demon growled menacingly, all fun and games gone. She ran at him again, but he spun and kicked her in the back as she passed. The woman shrieked as she was sent flying across the shop and smacked straight into the teen with a nose-piercing.

"Hurry, Uncle!" Jade urged the older man and steered him away from the worst of the fighting. Valerie frantically looked about. What had that flower looked like in the vision, again? She wracked her brain to desperately try and remember.

And that was when she saw them. Pink-red flowers all in a bowl. Uncle's chi-o-matic dinged.

She and Jade leapt forward and began to hurriedly rifle through each flower, until only one was left. And Drago stood grinning on the other side of the table. "For me? You shouldn't have."

Before he could grab it, Jade snatched the flower away and shoved it into Valerie's arm. The child leapt into the air and kicked Drago right in the face. He fell back and growled.

" _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao,_ " Uncle chanted as he waved his puffer fish over the flower in Valerie's hands. It glowed a bright blue, and Valerie felt her left hand tingle with magic in the air.

"No!" Drago shouted and charged in an attempt to stop the blue chi from absorbing into the chi-o-matic. But too late.

Valerie shrieked when the demon leapt at them. Her left hand sparked. Uncle waved his puffer-fish and a green blast erupted to throw Drago backwards. He crashed into the wall, and fell amidst the shelves and other arrangements. And then, right behind them, Jackie trapped Strikemaster Ice in a roll of Clingfilm, Tohru squashed his opponent, and Nat kicked the last dragon-boy through a window.

Safe to say, the shop was a mess. And the owner didn't look very pleased.

* * *

"Was that a joke back there?" Drago growled an hour later in front of his new three henchmen. He was so angry at the failure he was ready to tear the three apart. "I give you powers beyond your wildest imagination. And you three still can't get past an archaeologist, a bookworm, a tub of guts, an old man and a little girl?"

"What 'bout the other one?" MC Cobra asked rubbing his aching shoulder where he'd hit the window.

"That one's new. But if you're half as good as you claim you are, I expect you to destr–"

He went still, mind overcome with another vision. His mind was assaulted with the vision of Tso Lan in all his regal robes and flowing hair. A lotus pod bloomed beneath him.

"Yo, he's buggin' again." Ice shook his head, confused.

Drago came back to the present and grinned threateningly. "You three are about to get a second chance."

* * *

And then the day went from bad to worse. What were the chances of TWO demon chi's appearing in one day?! Valerie couldn't blame Jade for sulking, having had her birthday completely taken from her because of her family's duty. But then, the young woman had more things on her mind as she shifted uncomfortably in the far-back seats squashed next to Nat. The redhead hadn't given her much of a choice when they'd boarded the car, a thunderous look on her face.

Whilst everyone else was occupied directing the speeding car, Nat turned to regard Valerie with a look of pure cold malice. "You neglected to spill a little piece of information."

"And what would that be, Nat?" Valerie asked tightly. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared straight ahead. She refused to let the other woman get under her skin.

"You know damn well what!" the redhead hissed. "You decided to leave out something like – oh, I don't know… being the devil's baby-momma?!"

"FYI, I am not Drago's mother… technically. He's from the future. A future me did it."

"That makes you just as guilty – you're going to hook up with the enemy!"

"No, I'm not!" Valerie rounded on Nat with a murderous scowl. "Shendu is never getting into my sheets anyway, so you can stop trying to monitor them! If you would allow a lick of sense in that dense head of yours, you'd understand that I'm just as confused as you. And in case you haven't noticed – I'm currently fighting on the good side!"

Nat leaned back in her seat, a look of contempt on her features. "Huh, for now."

Valerie growled to herself and rolled her eyes. She was in no mood for Nat's games, so decided to ignore her.

They quickly arrived at San Diego zoo, and the whole group began their earnest hunt. Valerie stuck by Tohru, intent on keeping the sumo between her and Nat as much as possible. The big guy even helped to take her mind off of things when he bought Jade a big piece of cotton candy with a happy birthday smile.

Not long after, the chi-o-matic led them to the giant panda enclosure. Valerie scanned the grounds, and eventually spotted dozens of lotus blossoms floating in the fake lake. Great. And to make matters worse, just as they arrived, Drago and his new minions leapt into the panda exhibit from the other side of the fence. Jackie, Tohru, Uncle and Nat all plunged in after them. Valerie held onto Jade to stop her from following.

"Val, _seriously_?" Jade gaped up at her. "You're going to make me sit this one out?"

"And what? Get into the fight?" she threw the girl a look. "I don't think so."

"But what if we could help? Look, I promise I won't go near the fight – but we can help stop Drago whilst he's distracted!"

Valerie opened her mouth to argue but froze. Far below, Drago reached for a lotus pod, and the flower bloomed blue with light. Before his fingers could touch it, Tohru took Uncle's puffer fish and shot a blast of chi magic straight over Drago's head. The two groups squared off. The twenty-four-year-old woman hated to admit it, but Jade kind of had a point. Now might be their only chance.

She groaned but nodded. Jade whispered her excitement, and leapt over the railing. Valerie hurriedly followed after.

They snuck past the dozy pandas, and tiptoed their way towards the pond behind Drago's men. Neither group noticed them, and Val gulped with nerves the closer they got.

"The demon chi stays." Tohru growled. "You go!"

Smoke poured from Drago's grinning mouth. "We'll see about that…"

He turned to grab the lotus pod, right as Jade did. The two stared, everyone else froze.

"Get her!"

The Ice Crew leapt into the air towards the girl, their sharp claws outstretched, ready to tear her to pieces.

Valerie felt her insides explode in fear. She rushed forward with a scream. "No!" she fell beside Jade and pulled the girl against her body. Her other arm lifted, as if she could push back the oncoming mouths filled with fire.

Some secret place inside her snapped. Energy flooded her system and filled her to the point of bursting in a flash. Without her even telling it to, her body funnelled the sparks down her arm from muscle memory. The scar on her left hand glowed and green lightning shot out of her hand. A blast exploded out from her and with its great forcefield threw the Ice crew clear across the enclosure. Even Drago stood close by was flung aside from the shockwave.

And a moment later it was gone. Valerie's head began to pound, and her limbs felt as if their bones had melted. Spine turned to jello, she sagged, and it was only Jade's sudden grip on her that kept her from completely collapsing. "Whoa… Val, you can do magic?!"

"I… I don't know…" she murmured weakly.

Uncle wasted no time and rushed over to recite his incantation. " _Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao, Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao,"_

The blue light surrounding the lotus lifted into the air and was quickly sucked into the chi-o-matic. The entire grouped breathed a sigh of relief. The day was finally over. Or at least, they thought so. When Uncle's device started to tremble and whine, everyone grew still.

Uncle worriedly clutched his previous machine. "Uncle was afraid of this…"

"Sensei?" Tohru asked uneasily.

Suddenly, the chi-o-matic vomited back up all the chi it had absorbed that day. Two blue lights shot into the air and twirled up into the sky. Nat, Valerie and Uncle watched them dance with expressions of horror.

"Chi-o-matic can only hold one power at a time!" Uncle exclaimed.

And then, Drago was back up and in the fight again. He leapt into the air and swallowed the moon-chi whole. Valerie felt her stomach constrict as she watched Drago's body contort and twist. Another pair of arms sprouted from his chest, his tongue stretched and grew out of his mouth, his clothes elongated to more resemble regal robes.

"Jackie!" Uncle yelled. "Drago must not absorb Earth-demon-chi. You must become living vessel!"

Obediently, Jackie ran for the last glowing blue light. Drago soared towards it, and the two closed on each other with terrifying closeness. At the last moment, Jackie leapt forward and snatched the chi out of the air. Almost immediately, his skin began to grow a subtle brown tinge to it.

Valerie couldn't concentrate on anything, her head felt too light. A shadow fell over her. She looked up in time to see Nat stood over her, Jade beside her. Uncle and Tohru were busy fixing the chi-o-matic. That left only the huntress and the child to fend off against the three lizard-boys.

"Ice isa gonna bring the heat!" Strikemaster Ice sneered.

"This is for ruining my birthday!" Jade screeched back and threw her cotton candy right into Ice's face. The teenager fell, clutching his face in an attempt to rip the stuff off. Nat yelled and launched herself at the remaining two. Her katana shined, her hand reached into her pocket and dust billowed onto the teenagers. They choked, and were sufficiently distracted for her to kick them both in the face.

Valerie tried to concentrate, she really did. But the energy refused to come back to her. Her stomach rolled and her limbs shook. She really didn't feel well at all. And then, before she could ground herself, her body collapsed underneath her, her head spun and darkness claimed her.

* * *

The battle at the zoo had ended swiftly, with Jackie's earth demon powers going toe to toe against Drago's moon and fire demon combo. Nat (with the later help of Tohru) managed to deal with the Ice crew. And Uncle finally fixed his machine and drained Drago of his moon chi.

They'd arrived back at Section 13 a few hours later. Val had still not awoken from her bout of unconsciousness, which worried the group. They decided to put her on the couch of Uncle's shop, so that the old man could monitor her progress overnight. No one could explain what happened in the zoo, all the more reason why they were anxious for her to regain consciousness.

Uncle had taken back the demon chi from Jackie, and the human reverted back to his normal self. It was then quite satisfying to deposit the next two powers into their containment unit. Even Nat seemed impressed and triumphant to watch all four blue lights swirl together.

Black smiled. "Four down, four to go."

"And that'll be easier with an extra pair of hands, right?" Nat smirked and sank into a hip.

Jackie grinned. "You're staying?"

She rolled her eyes with a sassy flick of her hair. "I'm a demon-hunter. It's kinda what I do."

* * *

Jade slept deeply that night. Yes, she might not have celebrated her birthday the way she might have wanted, but her day had still been tiring. Plus, Tohru's arms were incredibly comfortable.

Too bad her dreams were not as pleasant.

 _She was in darkness, and a faint whooshing sound surrounded her on all sides. An instinctive sixth sense alerted her to danger, a pit of unease in her stomach making her fists clench._

 _A face reared out of the darkness, a familiar grin cracked across it. "Still wanna go to the dance with me?"_

 _Jade recoiled and Hsi Wu cackled._

 _The girl grew angry and growled at the inkiness that surrounded her. "Get outta my head, Hsi Wu!"_

 _"How can I when you need me so much?" he cooed mockingly._

 _Jade spat. "Need you?"_

 _"Oh yes. She's gonna get you…"_

 _"Who?!"_

 _"Why Valerie of course!" he snickered. "She's gonna get you, Jade – gonna turn on you! Nothin' you can do to stop it."_

 _"Liar!"_

 _"Why would I lie, Jade? The darkness is in you just as much as it is her. After all, if it wasn't I wouldn't be here…"_


	9. Strange Magic

Strange Magic

* * *

The amount of times Jade had sworn on her precious 'scouts-honour', only to mock the fact that she wasn't a scout – and now she had gone to join the actual scouts… Valerie couldn't help but laugh at such ironic comedic genius.

It still made her laugh on her mid-morning break after she'd cleaned the entire collection of Ling-Dynasty antiques. Sat with a cup of tea and reading the newspaper that Tohru had finished with earlier, she was the picture of content. Well, she needed to be. After she'd awoken from her bout of unconsciousness at the zoo the other day, everyone had acted like they were stepping on egg shells around her. Even Nat. Valerie honestly didn't know what had happened to her – well, that was a lie, she had a _hunch_ – and she wanted to keep her mind and everyone else's away from the subject as much as possible.

Hence, why she was reading the paper, instead of the second Lord of the Rings book that was stuffed in her bag. The subject of magic was a little tender on her nerves right now. But newspapers were boring. They gave nothing but the cold, hard dreariness of life; exaggerating the truth so far that it could be classed as fiction, but without any of the charm. The blatant fear-mongering was dull and annoying. It was exactly what she needed.

Yet even then, she flicked through most of the articles. More bad weather over the oceans – extremist Christians blaming the fault on sinners, _again_. Some poor old man claimed to be abducted by aliens. Homeless people in New York spreading stories of gargoyles. White supremacists in the south were gaining momentum. All the usual horrid tales that made one lose faith in humanity. So Valerie skipped more towards the back, to the less dramatized section.

One article caught her attention about a brilliant new home being built out in the middle of nowhere near the Rocky Mountains. From the concept art shown, Valerie loved the look of it immediately, and envied the life where she might be able to afford such a place. Secluded, quiet, loads of space to do anything and nothing. Beside it, was an ad for the local museum. Seems that a new Babylonian exhibit was soon to be showcased after a strange relic had been found out near Baghdad. Now _that_ , Valerie knew she could afford.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a stack of books was slammed on the table next to her. Valerie screamed so loudly, she jumped into the air. Uncle scowled down at her. "You want to make Uncle deaf? Then quit that noise!"

Hand over her pounding heart, Valerie growled words under her breath.

Uncle pushed the books closer to her. "Chi-spell books need to be placed back in their proper order on shelves."

She went to stand and pick them up, but paused. Her fingertips traced the covers of the old books, fingering their worn cloth and faded letters. The subject was here and the urge to speak was on the tip of her tongue.

"Uncle," she forced out. "H-how is it I can do magic? I mean, that was magic I did in the zoo. Right? I-I couldn't do that before, so why–"

"Ah yes," Uncle nodded at length, as if just remembering a trivial thought he had pushed aside. "When Shendu re-wrote the Book of Ages, you were bound to him. Weren't you?"

Before Valerie could answer, he snatched up her left hand and exposed her palm. He stared at the scar that lay there like a sin proclaimed to the world. Valerie felt her stomach twist anxiously, a furious blush on her cheeks and neck.

"Uncle was afraid of this…"

Throat dry, she desperately tried to speak. "I-I can explain! I–"

"Under Shendu's influence you were forced to undergo the binding ritual."

Her words stopped in her mouth. Her jaw snapped shut. The impulsive liar resurfaced in her for a moment, and she decided not to correct Uncle on his assumption. After all, what good would it do to admit out loud that she hadn't been forced into anything. She had willingly gone along with everything, no mind control needed from Shendu. But to say that would mean she was more messed up then even she'd thought.

"But that was in the other reality. Technically in this one, I shouldn't even have this scar – it never happened here."

"No." Uncle shook his head gravely. "Some magics are so powerful, they transcend space and time. You and Shendu changed the very nature of yourselves when you were bound together. This power was brought through to this time."

Well… shit. "B-But, what do I do? How do I get rid of it?"

"Don't know."

Valerie gaped at him. "Wait, _what_?! There must be something!"

"Yes." He nodded and then held up a finger. "We do research!"

* * *

Nat wandered around the more… unpleasant streets of downtown San Francisco. She'd just really taken a stroll for the day, to try and broaden her horizons when it came to this place that it looked like she would be spending most of her time now. She was bunking in Valerie's new apartment, as she had done before. And whilst there was still this tension between them since she'd come back, Nat hoped that they might work past it. Despite her temper, she liked Valerie. The blonde just got on her nerves sometimes with her naivety and her compulsion to hush everything up.

But back to the matter at hand, Nat marched past a group of unsavoury looking youths. They cat-called, shouted obscene things her way but she ignored them. With all the heat she was packing under her jacket, she really didn't need to worry about getting mugged. She just carried on walking, determined to enjoy herself. A young woman just out for a stroll through the city, not looking for any trouble, not seeking demons of any sort.

Okay, that last one was bullshit.

The best prey came when you weren't actively looking for it. So Nat _pretended_ not to look for it.

And then it happened.

She went past signs for a junkyard a couple blocks away, and turned to walk past an alleyway, when she heard it. The tell-tale tingled at the bottom of her neck quivered, and then she heard the voice.

"Ah!" came a quiet hiss. "I can't get it… out of my head!"

Nat immediately pressed herself against the wall. Her footfalls were silent as she tried to edge her way closer to corner and slip into the alley. Holding her breath, she carefully poked her cheek around the lip to peer inside.

Drago was in the deepest part of the alley, pressed into the corner, sat on top of a dumpster. He seemed determined to push himself into the darkest shadows to remain undetected. Rubbish and other refuse littered the ground – it was obvious no one would come looking in this pit. His three cronies were absent. The demon in question had his head buried between his bent knees, claws digging into the back of his head as if he had a headache he was trying to claw out.

Nat retreated back in order to gather herself. As quiet as she could be, she reached into her jacket for one of her throwing stars. Eyes darted left and right, but the cracked and dirtied street was deserted, good. If she was quick enough, she might be able to catch the demon by surprise and put an end to this nightmare for all of them. Others might have balked at her resolve, but Nat knew her duty – it had been ingrained into her since she'd been old enough to want anything. She had to use anything and everything at her disposal to keep innocents safe, it was her job.

Her toe crept towards the corner, when she heard Drago speak again, and she froze, desperate to not let him catch her.

"Get it out!" he spat under his breath. "It's like a song stuck in my brain – can't shut it up! What is it?!"

He growled loudly. Nat heard the metal of the dumpster give a loud squeal as the metal was dented. Drago grunted when the ' _bang_ ' of a fist on stone resonated through the alley. The demon panted, his frustration and turmoil in every breath.

With him so distracted, Nat knew she would have a perfectly good shot. But still she hesitated, something inside her wanted to know more.

Suddenly, Drago let out a groan – a sound filled with pain and exhaustion. "You'd know what it was, Mom."

His voice was so quiet, so… _small_ , he almost sounded like a normal human being. It was as if all the demon-tones in his vocals had vanished. It made Nat's brows furrow. She hadn't expected this.

An angry bitterness rose in his voice. "The Chans won't get the better of me. I'll beat 'em. Whatever it takes… _'_ _The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.'_ … Yeah, I can use that."

A phone buzzed. For one horrible moment, Nat thought it was her own. But she felt no vibration in her pocket. She heard Drago curse and then the beep of a button being pressed.

"What!?" he snapped.

" _Yo, D, yo comin' back dog?"_ she heard Strikemaster Ice whine. _"_ _We got peperoni, four cheese, or spicy-sizzler."_

"I can't leave you idiots for ten minuets," Drago muttered. A pause. "I'm on my way. Save me the spicy."

A flurry of movement, the bang of feet on metal then stone. Nat threw her head to look, to catch a glimpse, but the demon was already a black blur as he vaulted over the back wall and was gone.

The slayer slumped against the wall, not sure whether to be annoyed that she'd missed her chance, or confused by what she heard.

Another buzz. This time from her pocket. Fumbling she fished it out and tried to control her voice as she spoke into it. "Hello?"

" _Nat?"_ came Valerie's voice. " _Err, could you come back to the shop a minute? I think you might wanna have a look into all this."_

Nat didn't ask for her to specify. She simply hung up, walked into the road and called down the first cab that came into view.

* * *

Valerie was looking anxiously at the list of scrolls and volumes Uncle had piled on his desk when Nat came into the shop. The demon slayer looked a little out of breath, and her green eyes wouldn't look at her. She seemed a little… disturbed. What had –

"Valerie," Uncle said sharply. "Sit in this circle."

With a piece of chalk, Uncle drew a perfect circle, along with several Chinese characters along the outside. When he was finished and stepped back, Valerie tiptoed into the centre and slowly sat down, as if she feared being consumed by fire at any second.

"What is this?" Nat asked tensely.

Uncle shrugged as if everything were normal. "See if Valerie has demon magic."

"What?!" Nat's eyes bulged.

Valerie panicked and quickly held out her hands as if to stop anything else from moving. "No! No! It's not like that! It's – OW!"

She rubbed her head where Uncle had smacked her with two fingers. "Pay attention! Focus inside. Close eyes, feel chi. Feel Shendu's spirit inside you. And pull it outwards."

Valerie did as she was told, and made the conscious choice to not tell Uncle that Shendu had taught her all about harnessing her chi in the other reality. But would the same rules still apply in this dimension? Focusing inward, she searched the deepest, darkest part of her mind. Deep down as if at the bottom of the ocean, where light never reached, she found something slithering and stirring. It was actually quite surprising how easily she'd found it. But then again, Uncle had said the circle was designed to enhance one's chi-focus. She reached for it, half afraid, half drawn in. Whatever this thing was, in her mind it was massive, unending, dark and dangerous.

She broke the trance, her worried eyes snapped onto Uncle and Nat. Her throat was suddenly too tight as she swallowed. "What if… what if I can't… What if I hurt you two?"

"Uncle not silly apprentice," the old man sniffed and brandished his puffer fish. "Always use protection."

Her heart still wouldn't stop pounding, but closed her eyes again.

In her mind, she found the swirling mass again. She reached for it, and felt the presence slither across her flesh to embrace her. It dance along her skin, caressed her soul, every part of her that it could reach it embraced. It was like a dog that she'd shut away for too long, just happy to be reunited with its master. The scar along her left palm tingled with crackling energy. Valerie felt the fire of the entire world melt into her core, and left her breathless and energised all at the same time. It was both pain and ecstasy, a fulfilment she suddenly realised she was empty without whenever she denied it. But such dizzying power frightened her. She didn't want it all, it was too much, if only she could have just a little bit, a taster, not so full on –

White light and scorching heat blazed at the back of her eyes. She cried out, the pain rippling back through her brain and across her entire body. She tried to open her eyes but was completely unseeing. Panic engulphed her, and she tried to worm away, to shake it off but nothing responded. She was helpless.

Images assaulted her mind. Muscles cramped and seized. Sensations, sounds and sights buzzed through her skull until she thought she would vibrate out of existence. She saw blood dashed onto the ground, storm clouds rumbled overhead and cast a dark shadow over a cold world. A gale of wind seemed to have a voice that shouted a mournful call. A mountain in the distance morphed into a drop of water which slid into a stone chalice. All the while a strange noise, like a marvellous yet horrid voice sang somewhere in the back of her mind, a noise that cut through her, an endless loop in her head she couldn't get rid of. The images came faster, like someone had pressed the skip button on the remote. A sword. A scream. A beat of wings. Endless coils. An ocean boiling over and bursting. And the last she saw was a pair of brilliant blue eyes glaring back at her from the abyss.

Valerie came back to the world of the living with a gasp, as if she had been drowning. Funnily enough, she could even taste the salt water burning the back of her throat. She gurgled and spat and crawled out of the circle, her body heaving and shaking.

Uncle and Nat helped her up and calmed her down, though it took a while. Finally, once the trembling had subsided somewhat and she was able to focus, she saw their worried faces peering down at her.

"I-I-I don't know what happened!" she stammered, voice raw. "I saw so many _things_! There was something watching me – I know it was, I saw it's eyes! And there was this music… I couldn't get it out of my head."

"I found Drago today," Nat whispered, almost to herself. When Uncle and Val looked at her sharply, she nervously elaborated. "He didn't see me. I heard him say something similar – I think he hears the music too."

Valerie shook her head, her mind finally back to work and spinning at a million miles an hour to try and catch up. "Something's not right, nothing's adding up – not since the chi stars. Nothing makes sense. There's some secret component, something we're missing."

"But what?" Uncle asked.

"I…. I don't know."


	10. A Mark of Evil

**Author's Note: Please don't forget to check out the TV-Tropes page, the 8-track playlist, and also all the art for this story going on over at Deviantart! All of these things are being updates regularly - so do go and check it out.**

 **Thanks to InsanityisReality for being an amzo-beta!**

 **And don't forget to review!**

* * *

A Mark of Evil

* * *

"Yo, dog… what's with all the Voodoo?" Ice asked uncomfortably as he and his crew sat atop a wrecked Chevy and watched their boss go a little overboard in his _weirdness_. Drago was planting black candles in a circle, a flame danced on the end of his talon to set them alight. In the centre, a bowl filled with ink sat still and serene.

"It's not Voodoo," Drago snipped as he sat himself cross legged in front of the bowl. He cast his mind through every memory, every story he'd been told, and every piece of digging he'd done in recent years (well, before he got sent back in time). "I'm sick of failures to the Chans, of being outgunned by them at every turn."

"Ain't our fault!" Cobra whined.

"No," Drago fixed his eyes on the bowl. "But we're gonna shift the odds."

Ice shivered as if he had the willies. "What ya gonna do?"

"In my own time, I searched for my father's spell to summon his dragon army. I foun–"

"Sic, dog!" Ice exclaimed excitedly. "We be ridin' this party in _style_! Dragon riders for the win!"

"Shut up!" Drago shouted. The three youths settled, and their boss growled under his breath before continuing. "I can't summon the dragon army. Dad had to give me magical permission in my own time – I doubt he'd let me now. It also takes time and resources to put together we don't have. Fortunately, when I was searching through his stuff… I found something else."

He eyed the bowl of ink, noting rather ironically how it seemed to blend with the shadows of the night…

"Something that'll give us an extra muscle."

"…What?" Ice asked after a pregnant pause.

Drago smirked. "Shadowkhan."

Cobra frowned. "Err, Shadow-what?"

"You ever done this before, D?"

"Nope." Drago said and held his hand above the bowl.

The young dragon closed his eyes and summoned forth the power within. Muttering under his breath the ancient spell, he cast his consciousness into the darkness that the bowl of ink represented. Into the realm of shadows, the eternal font of night. He could feel the presence there, and tried to pull it out. But it resisted. Drago tried harder, but no matter his mental strength, the shadows refused to bend to his will.

Frustration made him growl impatiently. With his other hand, he ran a talon over the tip of his finger, and allowed a single drop to contaminate the bowl of ink. Mother had always told him that the only thing stronger than magic, was blood-magic. Again he cast his mind into the dark, used his magic, with his blood as an anchor to spread his power over it like a seed growing roots. And then Drago felt something rather strange, it was as if a door had been unlocked, and a tidal wave of power gushed over him.

"Awaken from Shadow… serve your new master!" he cried in triumph, eyes opening to see the bowl of ink glow blue, the outline of a face within. "Come to me, Shadowkhan! Rise my army of Darkness…"

" _Your_ army?"

The voice had every head turn towards the bowl, wide-eyed. "Huh?!"

This was unexpected.

Within the murky waters, Drago saw a face. In all honesty, it was a hideous face only a mother could love – and probably not even then. Red with huge forest, large black lips with fangs that almost didn't fit into his mouth properly. White hair sprouted in bushy eyebrows and moustache and beard. The head floated with no body, pointed with elfish ears and horns of a sort. It stared out of the bowl at Drago, a sneer twisting its already ugly face.

"I am the one and only _King_ of the Shadowkhan! I am Tarakudo – awakened and ready to reclaim my Ninja Magic." The deep voice of the face paused, and seemed to look about the bowl as if realising its confinement. "…a task for which I will require _assistance_."

A flash of blue light, a roar, and Drago was sent backwards on his backside. When he recovered, he found the head _out_ of the bowl and floating in the air! It roared at him fiercely, and Drago was up on his feet in an instant and summoning fire to his claws.

"It would seem I have you to thank, demon child, for my liberation." The head, Tarakudo, sniffed haughtily. "I suppose you will want payment?"

Drago flashed his own fangs. "How about you get your ugly mug outta my personal space and give me back my promised shadow-army!"

"You, nor any other, will be having them now." Tarakudo then spotted the Ice Crew as the three youths came to stand beside their boss. The creature's face seemed almost contemplative. "Flashy, boys. I might let _them_ have a turn, though."

"Wha – _argh!"_

Drago cried out as an invisible force smacked into him so hard he was sent flying into the air. He crashed amidst a stack of tires, the impact bruising all his back in an explosion of pain. He was buried beneath them all, air knocked from his lungs, barely aware of anything even as he distantly heard the sounds of his minions crying out in panic.

He clawed his way out of the mess, heaving to try and get air back into his body. With a final grunt he managed to push himself free and looked around for his new nemesis. Tarakudo floated fifty feet in the air, with Ice, Cobra and DJ Fist suspended helplessly beside him. All three lizard boys, were in a panic as they flailed uselessly. Tarakudo flashed Drago a smirk, before he began to float away.

The last thing Drago heard or saw of them, was Tarakudo's taunt thrown back at him. "Give Shendu my greetings – tell him we'll have to catch up _very_ soon."

Drago growled and climbed the rest of the way out of the tires. He stood there staring after where the head and his boys had just disappeared to. _What the hell just happened?_

* * *

"O my gosh, Val! This is so cool! You get to learn magic too?!"

Jade bounced around her ankles as they walked through Section 13. She'd been a ball of energy ever since she and Jackie had heard the day's story from Uncle when they'd come back to the shop. The blonde woman tried to calm the pounding in her head in order to better deal with her young friend's over-the-top-enthusiasm. The vision she'd received had really done a number on her.

"No, Jade," she murmured. "I could barely keep my focus. Let alone summon any magic." Yeah, no need to tell the eleven year old she'd seen visions of what looked like the apocalypse.

"But that magic you did in the zoo?"

Val shrugged. "Must've been a fluke." God, she hoped so at least.

"Let's hope so." Said Nat. Val glanced over at the redhead. The slayer had been acting weird since they'd left the shop.

Jade bounced back towards Uncle. "Please, Uncle! Teach me magic – pleasepleasepleaseplease pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"

The old man fixed the girl with a piercing look. "You have piece of demon soul inside you? Noooooo? Then no magic!"

She sagged in disappointment. "Awwwwwww. Why does Tohru get to study the fun stuff?"

"Because he must study!" And just like that, Uncle whipped out a card with a picture on it and brandished it in front of Tohru. "What is this? Uncle is waiting."

The sumo looked like a deer caught in the headlights before he suddenly remembered himself. "Oh! I know – that is a symbol for a conjuring spell. One which requires garlic and ginger."

"…correct … IF YOU WERE MAKING CHICKEN CHOWMEIN!" Uncle screeched. Valerie, Jackie and Nat covered their ears. Tohru looked dejectedly at the floor, only glancing up when Uncle's voice calmed a little. "Do you plan on becoming Chi Wizard, Tohru? Then you must prepare for day when new evil enters our world."

 _Beep-beep-beepbeepbeep!_

Everyone looked to Uncle's chi-o-matic. The thing began to shriek in alarm, the dial spinning around until it was a blur. Val and Nat looked to each other, about to speak. However, they were cut off when alarms began to blare all across the bunker. The group looked up to the flashing red lights, the noisy alerts. Nat reached for her weapons, Uncle went for his pufferfish. They heard stomping steps and turned to see Captain Black racing down the hall towards the large group.

"Jackie!" he called and skidded to a stop. "Drago just tripped every alarm we have. He's here and–"

"He's gonna steal the Chi-powers!" Jade exclaimed when the answer struck.

As one, all of them ran in the direction of the vault. Nat got there first, closely followed by Black who punched in the combination number. Valerie was right behind them with Jackie, and wondered why the vault door wasn't opened if Drago was in there. Her thoughts were seemingly answered when the door down the hall exploded with fire and smoke, and Drago came charging down it as Black sprung open the vault door. Jackie, Nat and Tohru immediately stepped forward to intercept the demon, but in a move that seemed to defy the laws of physics, he leapt and sailed over their heads. With a swift punch to the gut, Drago sent Black down for the count; and with his other hand he swatted Uncle aside before the wizard could cast a spell.

It all happened so fast, Val only just had time to snatch up Jade to avoid her getting stamped on. Only then did she realise that Drago had gotten past them all and was now in the vault. "No–!"

And then he walked _right past_ the chi containment unit.

The Chan Clan all looked from one to the other in utter bewilderment. _What the hell?_

Drago waltzed right up to where his father's statue hung on the wall behind his bars of titanium, a scowl on his features. "We needa talk!"

Shendu's red eyes glowed ominously. "You'll have to do better if you want to play the pronoun game, _boy_. I require more context then that."

Valerie felt her jaw hang open, perplexed as she watched the scene. Drago had stormed into Section 13… to talk to his dad? Drago, however, didn't seem so amused. "Just tell me why your spells are so phony, or I'll chip you open!"

If he could've, everyone imagined, Shendu would have smirked. "Are the spells beyond your capabilities, whelp?"

"They are when they blurt out old friends of yours!"

That made the statue pause, apparently as lost as the observing humans felt. "What are you talking about?"

"I tried to summon Shadowkhan. But it didn't work, so I had to use blood-magic and then out popped a floating head and–"

"You **_WHAT_** _?!"_ Shendu roared, a flush of power leaking into the room with such force the very foundations of the vault began to tremble.

Drago shouted right back: "You didn't put any warnings on the spells!"

"Foolish boy! You have unleashed Tarakudo of the Oni!"

Nat and Tohru gasped, and Val spun to see the pair of them shivering like naked children caught in a blizzard. " _Oni!"_

Jade frowned. "The _who_ -ni?"

"When I was a child growing up in Japan," Tohru told them, and Val was shocked to see the terror on his face seemed to be mirrored on Nat as well. "My mother told me tales of the _Oni…_ Hideous horned demons who would sneak into the rooms of disobedient children… and _EAT THEIR SOULS!"_

"I never thought they were real," Nat mumbled quickly. "Just children-stories. But grandfather used to say how they were demons that terrorised and deceived mankind into feasting on their brains!"

Val planted her hands on her hips with a deadpan look. "The Japanese demon slayer thought Japanese demons were a myth?"

"Yes, blondie," Nat growled. "Irony isn't lost on me. But nobody's seen Oni in a thousand years! And no one knew they were connected to the Shadowkhan…"

" _Phe_! Fairytales!" Uncle put his nose in the air dismissively. "Cannot be Oni."

Tohru looked like the happiest of people at such an idea. "It can't?"

"Of course not!" the wizard snapped to his apprentice. "Everyone who has controlled Shadowkhan has been _Chinese._ Shendu – Chinese. Daolon Wong – Chinese. But Oni are _Japanese_."

"I assure you, wizard," came Shendu's slithering voice. "They are very much Japanese, and very much real."

"Shendu…" Valerie voiced and stepped forward until she was as close to the statue as Drago beside her. "You know what is happening? Who is this Tara…Tara…?"

"Tarakudo." He provided. "And yes, I do."

"Well, aren't you gonna tell us?" Drago snapped impatiently.

Shendu's eyes blazed with anger at his son. "Silence when the adults are talking, _boy_!"

"That's it!" Drago snarled and raised his claws as if to smash the statue to pieces.

Valerie felt something pull on her, just as it had done the day Shendu had used magic to break the enchantments on the Vault weeks ago. He was pulling magic from between them. Realising a fight was dawning, she stepped in between them, hands raised. " ** _Enough_**!" The demons froze mid attack, and slowly backed down. Valerie could practically feel the pending violence decrease as a smothering tension over all three of them appeared to ease. "Drago, we can't know anything more, if you're constantly at everyone's throats." She then turned to Shendu, her eyes pleading. "Shendu, if this is as bad as you make it sound, then please tell me what you know."

That red gaze softened on her, and Valerie had the strangest feeling as if a phantom hand had reached out to her to caress her hair, as gentle as a summer breeze.

"I will tell _you_ ," he said after a moment, and as he proceeded to speak, his gaze never left hers. "Tarakudo was an Oni-King who once terrorised the land of ancient Japan with his Oni generals. Each demon general controlled its own army, which were comprised of different tribes of Shadowkhan. This was in the time before the Eight Immortals banished my siblings and I to the Netherworld. Tarakudo's influence cost Po Kong her hold on Japan, and it appeared that his quickly growing empire would threaten the rest of us as well. We each decided it was in our best interests to destroy him before he could threaten our territories as well. Tarakudo's reign came to an end when human chi-masters used spells to trap the spirits of his generals within masks. Nine generals, nine masks."

"Wait!" Jackie interrupted, looking utterly devastated. "You mean we now have to hunt for a _second_ load of magical artefacts? Demon Chi _and now_ masks?"

"What happened to Tarakudo?" Valerie pressed, ignoring everyone else.

Shendu only paid attention to her. "He saw what became of his generals, and so disposed of his own body to prevent such a fate happening to him. With him weakened, my Siblings and I made our move. We used our combined power to challenge him – I was the conduit for it. I battled Tarakudo, and sent him fleeing into the Shadow-realm. Then I sealed the way behind him, trapping him within it and unable to escape."

"But he did _now_ ," Drago pointed out, arms crossed and a scowl plastered on his face.

Shendu hissed at him, "Only the power of demon blood could have unlocked him from the shadow-realm, like a key to the door – which _YOU_ unwittingly did through your own stupidity and arrogance."

"You didn't put any warning on the spell to summon Shadowkhan."

"You dabbled with forces beyond your comprehension. Any spell-caster should know not to combine two dark magics without fully understanding all the consequences!"

Once again, Valerie stepped in between them to stop the argument from escalating. "So if Tarakudo's free, what does that mean now?"

Drago muttered under his breath, "He said he'd catch up with dad sooner or later."

"Yes, he will come for vengeance. But he is not stupid. He will attempt to collect the nine masks of his generals and put them on hosts. Said hosts will be possessed by the general the mask represents and given control of a tribe of Shadowkhan."

"He took my Ice Crew!" Drago exclaimed.

"Then we must get them back!" Jackie cried in alarm. "And if we can find the masks, we can put them all in the vault – safe from the forces of evil."

"No."

Everyone did a double take at Shendu's harsh reply. Valerie blinked in confusion. "What? Why?"

"I allowed the masks to be scattered across the earth for a reason. Should the nine masks ever be rejoined in the same place, it will break them free anyway. And once they are, their combined power will summon enough Shadowkhan to engulf the entire earth in eternal darkness…"

"AIYA!" Uncle shouted. "Tohru must do reseaaaaaaaaaaaaaarch!"

The huge man blinked dumbly, as lost as everyone else. "He must?"

"You were told childhood tales of Oni by mother, you read Japanese, you _are_ Japanese; so _you_ must do RESEARCH!"

"Wizard!" Shendu said. "Release me from my imprisonment, and I shall see to it that Tarakudo is dealt with."

"Na-uh!" Nat was the first to shake her head immediately. "Forget about it! There's no way we're letting out an evil like you on this world along with what your Junior here let loose."

"Keep your hair on, Red," Drago shot back. " _Junior here_ , is gonna be a man and clean up his own mess. That floating head took my guys. I'm gonna get 'em back, and shove that pumpkin back where it came from!"

And just like that, Drago summoned a wall of flames, engulfing himself with it… and disappeared. As he did so, Captain Black seemed to come back around, standing drunkenly whilst cradling his bruised head. "Oooooh… What-what's going on?"

Valerie turned back to Shendu. "Where would Tarakudo go first? Where's the first mask?"

Shendu seemed to hesitate, almost thinking carefully before he answered. "The most obvious one would be in Tokyo, Japan. The Samurai who performed the spells to create the masks originated from there. Po Kong never found it, though."

Jackie turned to the Section 13 boss. "Captain Black! We require the fastest transport you have!"

Everyone hurried out of the vault. Valerie went to follow, but paused. She turned back to look at the statue. Shendu was watching her. He didn't have to tell her all of that. He could have very well told them lies, or refused to say anything at all. He could have basked in watching his enemies be destroyed by Tarakudo with no warning, yet he hadn't. It made the smallest of smiles twitch at her lips, and she nodded her gratitude to him.

"Thank you, Shendu." She whispered.

His eyes regarded her, and she felt the smallest flush of warmth seep across her body. With just that, she knew he'd accepted her thanks and enveloped her in his own way the equivalent of someone placing their hand upon her shoulder. A gesture meant to express a thousand things. Valerie couldn't hold his gaze, her heart skipped a beat.

To escape, she turned and ran back out of the vault to catch up with the others.

* * *

The Chan clan made it to Tokyo, and as they landed, Black rang to inform them that Drago had been sighted on the move to Tokyo as well. Uncle theorised that since Drago had gifted the Ice Crew with a trace of his own demon-chi, he was able to follow that Chi like a homing beacon. It was then unanimously decided to follow Drago in turn so that he might lead them to Tarakudo.

Valerie kept an eye on Nat, whom she was a little worried to see constantly reach for her sword. The woman was a little on edge, and she and Tohru stuck close together. The blonde couldn't even imagine what they were feeling, it would've been like someone telling her Dracula was real and wondering the earth right now. It only made her respect the two more. In their place, she would've stayed at home and never left. Well, she would've done that now – if a certain child hadn't ruined that plan. Jade had been ordered to remain in the shop, with Valerie as her babysitter. They didn't even last two minutes before Jade bolted out of the door the moment Val's back had been turned. She'd had to race after her and only just managed to catch her as they reached the airfield. By that point, it had been too late to turn back.

She sent a glare down to the girl beside her. Jade smiled widely and innocently, as if nothing were amiss. Valerie rolled her eyes and they followed Jackie and the others.

The shrine that Shendu had spoken of, and where Drago had last been seen skulking about, was a museum just a little outside of central Tokyo, right on the bank of the Sumida River. As they made their way indoors, Nat reached for her sword when they found no one at reception, even after she called out in Japanese. They made their way up the stairs and checked each floor for any sign of the mask – which none of them knew what it looked like. Valerie began to have a horrid sensation in her stomach that something was wrong, when in no room they entered could there be found even a single person. It was as if everyone in the museum had just up and left it deserted, or had turned invisible. Apparently the anxiety had spread to Tohru, who was shivering almost uncontrollably. Jade noticed as well, and reached over to take the large man's hand in hers.

On the third floor, they came to a large Samurai exhibit, and a little beyond that, a wall donned with all kinds of masks. Each a snarling face filled with teeth and hate filled glares. It was rather creepy, to be honest. Valerie felt goosebumps, and noticed that each of the windows were open, leading to the scaffolding outside – possibly from where work was being done to the exterior.

"How do we know which is the mask we're looking for?" Jade asked, her small voice seemingly very loud in the silence.

Tohru's shivering returned tenfold to the point it looked like he was vibrating. "Why do I have a strange, clammy feeling down my spine?"

Uncle gave him a peculiar look. "You have the willies?"

"Usually a pretty good sign that the king of all Oni is in the house!"

The voice had everyone gasping and turning to confront it. Valerie gaped – one of the masks on the wall came _alive!_ It's tone grew red-orange, white hair sprouted from eyebrows, moustache and goatee, pointed ears and spikes adorned its head. Teeth that looked a little too large for its mouth flashed with a wicked grin, and large green eyes pierced the group in place.

Uncle gasped and pointed a bony finger. "The symbol of the Shadowkhan!"

It was only then that Valerie noticed MC Cobra floating off to the side. The teenager appeared to be struggling, as if an invisible hand held him clenched in its fist. Valerie looked around – where were the others of the Ice Crew? Had Tarakudo stashed them somewhere to use later?

As if summoned by his mind, Tarakudo brought the boy level with his floating face. "Visitors?"

"Chan and crew," Cobra grumbled.

"Then why don't I _entertain_ our guests, whilst you acquaint yourself with _this_ fellow…" Tarakudo's face briefly morphed into a purple mask with red eyes and horns before transforming back. Cobra fell to the floor rather suddenly, and then quickly shot up to hunt through the wall of masks.

"Jackie!" Uncle cried in alarm.

Jackie leapt forward to try and intercept Cobra. Tarakudo moved in front of him, but was blocked when Nat stepped up with Jackie, Katana at the ready. Her sword swiped for the large floating head, which managed to evade her strikes. It was enough to distract him so that Jackie could push Cobra out of the way and hunt for the mask himself. Nat threw a switch blade, which forced Tarakudo to disintegrate and reappear behind her. As if she'd sensed him, Nat threw a handful of her good-magic-powder, forcing Tarakudo to retreat.

"You're good, little lady." The black lips smirked. And then he scowled. A ripple morphed through the air, and Nat was suddenly sent flying backwards all the way across the room. "But not good enough."

"Nataline!" Tohru abandoned Uncle's side in favour to step back and catch the red head in his huge arms. Val and Jade ran over to see if the shaken woman was alright. When she nodded and stood, they sighed with relief.

Valerie's feet couldn't keep still, her anxiety spiked when she saw Tarakudo turn and mentally throw Jackie into a memorial of Samurai armour. She turned back to Nat frantically. "Aren't you supposed to be a demon-slayer? Go do some slaying!"

Nat threw her an exasperated look. "Do I look like a Jedi? I can't fight against _the Force_!"

"Guys!" Jade hissed, and too late did Valerie notice that Tohru was also shivering. She turned and squeaked. Tarakudo was right in front of them. "He's here…"

" ** _You_** …" The Oni's huge green eyes fixed on Jade, wide and glazed as if in a trance. The girl stepped forward, a dream-like expression morphing onto her face as if she too were caught in the same spell. Tarakudo smiled – a terrifying thing. " _Ahhhhh…_ the former Queen of the Shadowkhan. Returning to the forces of darkness?"

And then Jackie was there and grabbed up Jade, breaking the trance and ran away to the other side of the room. "Thankyounonottoday!"

"In time," Tarakudo sighed patiently. "You're young."

 _Zap-zap-zap!_ Green light exploded off of the back of Tarakudo's head, causing the Oni to snarl and round on Uncle.

The old man taunted him with two crooked fingers. "Floating-head want piece of Uncle?!"

"You have no idea who you're dealing with." Tarakudo growled.

"Enlighten me."

"Bow before Tarakudo!" he proclaimed, rising into the air. "King of all Shadowkhan! Lord of all Oni!"

" _Aiya_! So you _are_ Japanese!"

The Oni King scowled, and Uncle was pushed backwards, caught only by Valerie. "Consider yourself enlightened."

Fire blasted into Tarakudo's cheek with such a brilliant flash, Valerie could see the after-light behind her eyes as she rapidly blinked. Everyone looked over, and their jaws dropped to see Drago stood by the open window, a fireball held in his hand like a baseball. "Yeah, and I'm gonna _enlighten_ you to ashes!"

"Ah, the Junior fire-demon, joining us for another lesson in humility?"

Drago roared and launched himself into the fight, claws brandished, flames igniting along his scales. Nat rushed into the fight to charge alongside him, surprising even Drago. The pair launched at the floating head, sword, claws, legs and fists all lashing out to try and score a hit. Tarakudo did his best to avoid each strike and use his mind powers to throw objects at them, or push them aside. Across the room, Jackie was back fighting Cobra as the pair pulled down every mask in an attempt to find the right one. With so much debris flying about the place, Jade was almost struck by a thrown Samurai Sword, which caused Valerie to run to her side and push her down into cover behind someone's work desk.

Tohru and Uncle tried to provide cover fire, but were flabbergast when their blasts had no effect. Tohru looked panicked to Uncle. "The spells aren't working!"

"That is because you do not study hard enough!" the old man snapped back.

"Foolish mortals!" Tarakudo thundered and threw Drago and Nat aside once more like they were ragdolls. "How can you kill a head already detached from its shoulders?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Valerie spotted Cobra kick Jackie back and find the purple mask on the wall. With his enhanced speed and reach, his scaly fingers plucked the mask from the wall. She tried to get up and warn Jackie before the teenager could put it on. "I got it!"

"Noooooo!" she cried. Cobra screeched, the sound muffled behind the mask. He hunched over, gripping his head as if he were in pain. "What is happening?!"

Tarakudo grinned. "Cobra is getting in touch with his more... _darker_ side."

And then cold, unnatural laughter filled the room. Cobra stood, and every human physically recoiled. Valerie felt bile at the back of her throat. The mask seemed to have _moulded_ to Cobra's head, the mouth with the over-stuffed teeth grinning, the red eyes roaming the room, the purple hide extending back all the way around his skull.

"Seven on one?" the teenager spoke with a voice that seemed contort to have lower sub-harmonics that grated down Valerie's spine. "Now that ain't fair..."

"Uh… Val?" Jade's voice squeaked out behind the blonde. "I'm guessing this mask-thing gives Cobra the power to summon…" she trailed off as her words became true. On the floor, shadowed circles began to appear, and as if rising from water, came black-clad, blue-skinned ninjas. "Shadowkhan…"

"They're not like Shadowkhan I've seen…" Valerie whispered.

Indeed. These Shadowkhan were taller, with only one red slash across their faces where their eyes should be. They had no feet, merely points at the bottom of their legs that pierced the ground where they walked. Their fingers were two feet long and serrated into sharp razors that glinted menacingly in the light. One of them slashed at a nearby support beam… and its claws sliced right through it like a knife through butter. Everyone gaped in mounting fear. This was not shadowkhan… they were more like _Razor-Khan_.

The first Razor-Khan twisted and slashed for Jackie right across the ribs. The man screeched and only just managed to jump backwards in time. In an effort to try and slow down his sudden, attacker, Jackie threw one of the disposed masks, but a flick of its wrist, and the Razor-Khan sliced the object into half a dozen pieces. It advanced, and Jackie threw more masks in rapid succession to try and slow it down. "Bad day! Bad day! Bad day! Bad day!"

The Razor-Khan launched at the group. Uncle and Tohru blasted them with spells from both lizard and puffer-fish, which surprisingly didn't have the same potency as it had done all the other times they had faced Shadowkhan. Instead of the ninjas melting to ash and smoke, the best that happened was that they were thrown back. One broke away from its advance on Uncle, when it noticed the woman and child hidden behind the desk. Valerie's stomach lurched with terror when she saw it run towards them and blindly reached for a broom leant against the wall behind her. Her left hand began to throb, but she ignored it – she couldn't deal with that right now! She swung the broom at the Razor-Khan, hitting its head batting it aside. But the thing bounced back up and swung its claws for her face. She shrieked and shielded herself with her broom – and it was cut in two. Half in each hand, she still fought back – it was all she could do. Right before the Razor-Khan could slice at her again, Nat threw herself into its back and tackled it to the ground. The thing kicked her off before it twisted itself to stand up. Forced to abandon the fight with Tarakudo, Nat defended herself from the tearing claws that swung for her throat. Dropping to one knee, the blades cut through the plaster on the wall behind her. Yet the creature didn't give her a chance to recover, for its other hand was already coming for her. She held up her Katana in a last-ditch attempt to avert it.

A spark of blue light, and the Razor-Khan was pushed backwards with an inhuman screech. Nat stood there dumbfounded. She stared at her blade, which was completely whole and untarnished.

She frowned. "Wait – they can slice through walls, but not my Katana?"

"Didn't you say it had anti-demon magic?" Valerie asked as she threw the brush end of her half-broom at a Razor-Khan's head that had been about to attack the back of Tohru.

Jade poked her head up. "I didn't know the Shadowkhan counted as magic…"

"Who cares!" Drago snarled as he disintegrated one with a flame-covered hand. "Use it!"

The half-demon launched himself at Cobra, claws grasping the edge of the mask to tear it off. He pulled with all his might, until the purple-faced-Cobra lifted a single fist and punched his former-boss so hard he was sent flying across the room. The possessed lizard-teenager grinned and jumped into the middle of the fight, his ferocity and speed enough to make even Jackie backpedal to get out of his way.

From her hiding place behind the desk, Jade watched the fight with mounting worry. She could see everyone fighting their hardest against the Razor-Khan, Tarakudo and Cobra. Previously, she would have always thought that her beloved J-Team could overcome any adversity. Yet even when they now fought their hardest, everything they did seemed to be predicted by the enemy or ineffective. They were slowly losing, and the girl felt powerless. Even though she would have normally burst into any fight, even she knew she couldn't help against this. If only they had the talismans with them! That would even the odds. Or even if Shendu had let them borrow his Shadowkhan, that would –

Her eyes bulged as an idea came to mind. She didn't want to do it – the last time she had it had had horrid consequences. And besides, Jackie would sooooooooo not approve. But seeing the fight slowly push on every limit her friends and family had, Jade realised that she had absolutely no choice.

Her honey eyes searched the desk top, then the draws, until she found a pen. Rolling up her pants leg, she quickly scribbled on the mark exactly the same way as before. That symbol had never left her mind, as fresh in her brain as the day she'd seen it on Shendu's archive. Sweat was almost beading down her forehead as she hurriedly finished the design – she didn't have any time to waste, she could hear the others struggling! When the pen clicked closed, she could feel the ice of power work its way under her skin, could feel it like it was all the warnings of ink poisoning she'd ever heard. This was it, this would turn the fight in their favour, take Tarakudo's precious ninja's right out from under his little black-tipped nose!

"Stop!" she shouted as she stood up arms outstretched. Every Razor-khan in the room froze in whatever position they were in, even one halted in mid-air. Cobra and Tarakudo looked shocked, and then turned to look at the cause. Jackie looked as well, his mouth and eyes widening with horror at what she'd done. Jade ignored the guilt, and instead commanded loudly: "Shadowkhan, remove that mask from Cobra – destroy Tarakudo!"

But the Razor-Khan remained frozen. Their heads turned from Tarakudo to Jade and back again, as if they were torn, unsure which command to follow.

Tarakudo fixed his eyes on Jade, brows coming down to glare at the girl. "What's this? An interloper."

He floated towards her, menace written all over his face. Valerie felt her heart leap with fear and ran to Jade. Her emotions fuelled her body, green sparks snaking out of her hand. Every lesson she'd learned from Shendu in the demon-reality, what Uncle had told her yesterday in his shop, she obeyed it. Without even thinking, she reached into the deepest part of herself and pulled at the snaking, coiling power that lay there. It flowed into her arm as she stepped in front of Jade and defiantly stood before Tarakudo. "Get away from her!"

Green lightning shot out of her palm as she aimed it right into Tarakudo's face. She felt the energy spear out of her in a brilliant flash of light that blinded the room. The head roared as he was sent backwards, electricity sparking over him, teeth bared in pain. Valerie felt her energy level drop, but nowhere near as badly as it had the first time in the zoo.

"Argh!" Tarakudo hissed as he recovered. His eyes blazed at her with fury. "Oooooh, now you have my attention."

"You're not getting Jade!"

"And who's going to stop me? You?"

Air stopped flowing into her lungs. Valerie opened her mouth and attempted to swallow the air, but nothing worked. Pressure squeezed her on either side of her windpipe, as if a giant hand had encased it. Her eyes bulged in panic, her concentration on her hand vanishing as she tried to claw at the non-existent grip. Wheezing gasps were all that came out of her. Heat pooled into her cheeks and behind her eyes, her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Somewhere in the distance at the back of her mind, she thought she could hear someone shouting her name.

"No light show to save you now?" Tarakudo mocked. Valerie felt her feet leave the ground, and she kicked out to try and touch it again. Her stomach was heaving as if she were about to vomit, her lungs were screaming for air. "What are you to me? You're just a pathetic mortal – rather bland and unextraordinary when compared to the others. What's that? Nothing to say? I have that effect on people."

" _Mom!"_

A green blur came from her peripheral vision. Scaly arms encircled her waist and tackled her out of the air. They crashed to the ground, and the moment she was out of Tarakudo's sight, Valerie felt the pressure on her throat cease. Air rushed into her body, searing cold against the vacuum that had been there previously. Drago held her in his arms as they rolled across the floor, and eventually came to a stop. Valerie lay there, gagging and spluttering, a struggle to get her body to function. Claws were pushing her hair out of her face, and she saw panicked red eyes in front of her. Drago looked completely shaken as he stared at her, desperate for her to confirm she was okay. She nodded shakily, and weakly turned her head to look back at the space where she had been.

"Now, then. Jade…." Tarakudo crooned as he closed the distance between him and the girl who seemed to be in a trance beneath his huge green eyes. "Why don't you slip into a skin that's much more suited to the darkness within you."

Jade squirmed, and then cried out. She threw herself forward, hunched over, body shaking. As if she too were having the life choked out of her; her skin turned blue and then grey. Her nails turned long and black, her hair began to float as if it were underwater. Everyone watched, unable to turn their eyes away from the unspeakable transformation that was happening before their very eyes. Tarakudo grinned and moved aside so that they could see his handiwork.

"All hail the return of her majesty…"

Jade stood with red eyes and a fanged-grin. "Long live the _Queen_!"


	11. Shadow's Spell

Shadow's Spell

* * *

It could have been a day, a week, a month, a year, a century. Time has a way of having no meaning when it does not seem to exist yet drags for an eternity simultaneously. With no sun, no day or night, there was no measure of time. The Nether-realm was just _peachy_ like that.

So it came as a great surprise to Hsi Wu, when he felt a great disturbance in the balance of the universe. One moment the demon of mischief was just minding his own business – and by that, he meant he was specifically attempting to gain any entertainment by annoying his siblings – and then the next, a shiver ran across his body as the world was _alerted_.

One cannot describe something disappearing that had never been there before. Yet that was what it felt like. Deep inside the black, shrivelled organ that passed for a heart in the Sky Demon's chest, a _something_ that he'd never been aware of before suddenly left him. Across every sixth sense, he felt the connected web of chi that flowed through the universe shift. A single string was moved, cut, darkened. It was something that shook him to his core and left a gaping hole in his very existence.

It could only mean one thing, he decided, and was not so sure how he felt about it. His _Other_ had _changed_. Changed in such a way that she was no longer his; their connection had been broken. The chi that she held that needed to be joined with his was no longer there. It was not gone forever, for otherwise Hsi Wu might surely have been driven mad as his soul was cut away – the same as his mother. No, Jade's chi was not gone… just _stolen_.

The wicked red eyes narrowed. Oh, this new development did _NOT_ sit well with him. Not. At. All.

* * *

"Long live the _Queen_!"

Jade's inhuman screech had almost every spine shivering. Jackie and Valerie looked on with horror and grief. Val had never witnessed Jade's previous descent into the evil of the shadow realm's influence, but she had been told of the adventure. But not even Jackie's most heart-clenching descriptions could compare with beholding such a thing in the flesh. In the depths of those red eyes, there remained nothing of the girl she knew. The kindness, the mischievous grin that only wanted to see people smile, the innocent enthusiasm, the loving heart… it was all gone. In its place was a remorseless, sinister smirk, a sadistic yearning, a defiant and ruthless core. It was as if someone had murdered the sweet girl they'd known and loved and watched the murderer climb into her skin and wear it like a puppet. Yet still they could not shake the feeling that this was their Jade, somewhere in there. Held hostage to the vile darkness that now consumed her.

"No!" Jackie whimpered and made to rush towards his niece. Tohru's hand held him back out of danger. Valerie couldn't stand to see the man's broken heart that was reflected in his face. "Jade… please, snap out of it!"

A grey lip twitched upwards into a sneer, heartless to the pain before her. "Tch. You're not giving me orders anymore. Queen-Bee is back in business!"

"Indeed." Tarakudo grinned as he floated at her shoulder. Valerie never thought she could hate the sight of something so much, so quickly. The anger that coursed through her was so great, so vengeful, she had half a mind to let the straining magic loose out of her hand. Her impulse broke when Oni-possessed-Cobra strolled up to stand beside his new master. Knowing the intimidating team he now had on either side of him, Tarakudo turned with an easy smug grin to the girl next to him. "And what would Her Majesty propose we do with these… infidels?"

"Jade, stop!" Valerie cried out. "We're your family!"

" _Family?_ " The girl spat back with such icy venom, Valerie recoiled as she was reminded of the future-Jade. "I know how it all turns out, Val… I know what _family_ you pick."

Tarakudo's brows twitched with interest, before he raised himself higher in the air to lord over his opponents. "Jade has a new family now, a new calling – a rightful place in the world."

The Chan Clan instinctively inched back away from him. Drago remained where he was, fists alight in fire. Valerie felt a small breeze tickle her hair, and she half looked back. Her eyes caught on something and she did a double-take. The large open window was right behind them, the river spread far beneath them. With the Razor-Khan on all sides and Tarakudo in front, they were trapped.

Jade's grin turned malicious, her feet levitated off the ground and she pointed a black nail at the Chan Clan. "Destroy them!"

Valerie screamed: "Window! Now!"

The last thing she saw, Drago was stood alone and with the sweep of one arm created a wall of fire that held the Razor-Khan at bay. Just as he had done at Section 13, the flames consumed him and he disappeared. Then, Tohru was pushing everyone through the window and they all yelled in freefall down to the dizzying drop to the water below. Valerie's stomach heaved, knowing certain death waited at the bone-breaking collision.

And then, right below them a fishing barge swept by on the river. It held such perfect timing that the entire Chan Clan fell amongst the fish heaped on the back, the slimy bodies acting as a cushion to break their fall. Relief was the first thing to envelop Valerie as she lay there paralysed for a single moment when her brain caught up with what had happened. Then the smell hit her. On a normal day, she would've gagged, but decided that it was a welcome alternative to constantly sleep with the fishes below the water's surface. She shoved away the fish that had swallowed up her body and surfaced to the top, like a child emerging from the depths of the ball-pit. The others spluttered up with her, and a quick head-count confirmed they were all alive and safe.

"Did we lose 'em?" Nat asked, a little winded, her sword still held tightly in her hands.

Valerie looked back up to the museum, which was already shrinking away as their unlikely recue-boat carried them away down-river. There was no sign of Tarakudo, Jade or any form of Shadowkhan pursuit. "Yeah… we lost 'em…"

Tohru grumbled and looked mightily peeved at his current surroundings. "I **_hate_** fish."

Jackie stared back at the museum, his eyes glistening with heart-broken tears. "They got the mask… _and_ Jade…"

The entire group held a moment of silence to fully take in the shock and grief of everything that statement entailed. One of their members had been lost, something they'd never considered in all seriousness before – they'd all beaten the odds so many times, been inseparable; it didn't seem possible. And not just any member, the youngest, the core of everything they were.

Nat shook her head and looked frantically to Uncle. "Can't you whip up a potion? Do _something?_ "

"Uncle no carry entire magic shop in his purse!" the old man snapped back.

Valerie looked back to the others, and quietly asked the question all on their minds: "So, what now?"

* * *

What to do, indeed. By the time the Chan Clan made it back to San Francisco, Black informed them that two other sites around the world had been hit by Tarakudo and the other members of the Ice Crew. A few hours later, a truck-load of convicts had been hijacked, with six of the prisoners on board reported missing after the attack. Those at Section 13 realised that Tarakudo must have recruited the criminals in order to be the hosts for the remaining six hidden masks.

And yet… nothing. After the kidnapping of the convicts, there were no more sightings of Tarakudo, or the Ice Crew, or even Drago following their trail. For the next three days, they waited. With his knowledge of the ancient Japanese legend, and now training with Uncle in the art of Chi-Magic, Tohru heavily went into research on how to combat the Oni and find their masks, as his master had instructed. The entire base was on edge, they waited for any news reports or whispers through the underground of any strange activity. In that time, they even found two of the Oni masks as they followed a locator-spell set up by Tohru. Yet what was more worrying then the lack of activity, was the fact that they couldn't _find_ Tarakudo. Not through the latest surveillance tech, or locator spells to track down Jade; there were no results to be had. Uncle theorised that Tarakudo must have used the Shadow-realm to travel back and forth across the planet with such speed and consistency that they couldn't keep track of him.

The wait was the worst part of all for Valerie. Sleep had not come to her in those three days, and she felt like a dead-woman-walking. But each time she closed her eyes, she saw the same scene in the museum over and over – Jade helpless and in need of her, yet she being unable to do anything to save her. Never before had the blonde felt so utterly useless as she did now, where none of her skills were of any help to finding and curing Jade or stopping Tarakudo. And as more time went by, the more she began to grow frantic and wild in her thoughts about how far she was willing to go to save the ones she loved.

Only one time did sleep eventually claim her. Even then, it wasn't the blissful, non-dreaming rest she'd hoped for.

 _The same nightmare replayed for her again, watching Jade be taken again and again, with various degrees of cruelty and horror. Valerie could only watch her failure as her heart broke. Tears stung her eyes, and her stomach wanted to purge itself of all its contents. She knew it was a dream, and desperately tried to convince herself to wake up. Yet Jade's screams continued to haunt and jeopardise her sanity._

 _And then, either through her own madness, or perhaps her brain had finally decided to show mercy, the dream faded away. As if a wind blew away flecks of dust that became meaningless and unimportant as they drifted out of sight. Valerie was only left in a black void, neither warm nor cold, alien yet strangely familiar_

 _"_ _Valerie…" whispered a voice._

 _She turned and was surprised yet strangely relieved to see Shendu not three feet away. He stood, gazing down on her, waiting for something. Valerie wondered if her screwed-up mind would ever let her have peace, or if she was certainly doomed to an insane asylum eventually. From the frying pan into the fire, as the case might be._

 _Unlike any of these dreams before, the pair of them didn't remain inside the black void that they'd previously occupied. Vague shapes began to take form around them, nothing distinguishable, only impressions of what could be. A red smear overhead meant it was evening – or possibly dawn? Grey blobs coated the ground, and she felt like she was sitting on something hard, like a concrete wall. Shendu slowly walked closer and sat on the same bench. As if her dream was trying to make him respectful, he kept a distance from her so as to give the illusion of her own space._

 _Valerie wondered how on earth this was happening. Why did her mind constantly do this? Why conjure his image to dog even her dreams? A shrink might tell her some bullshit about how it represented repressed emotions, but she wasn't buying it. This was just because she was over-tired and her mind was a mess from stress._

 _So was it when he looked over at her she couldn't help but feel something pass over her flesh, a subtle warmth that left her body cold afterwards._

 _"_ _You're hurting…" he murmured, half question, half statement._

 _She wanted to come back with an icy retort of_ _ **No shit, Sherlock.**_ _But didn't have the heart to do it. Instead, she sighed. "Yeah."_

 _He didn't look sympathetic. And Valerie silently gave her mind a pat on the back for being accurate to his nature in the sense that of course he wouldn't understand or reciprocate her pain. He was a demon, and more than that he hated the Chans. If he were actually here, then probably not one thing about this would phase him._

 _But then his huge clawed hand reached over and lightly placed it atop of hers. Valerie became very still, awaiting that flash of pain and the visions that had assaulted her mind when they'd touched in dreams before, but it hadn't happened. Instead, all she felt was the warmth of his flesh, as if it were really there. She looked down to watch, fascinated by how small her fingers seemed when compared to his. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and Valerie held her breath._

 _She was reminded of when she'd been inside Hollowlands, when he'd held her after she'd seen her father's murderer. A longing sprang up inside her, unbidden but totally undeniable. The simple touch conveyed a lot. No, he didn't understand or particularly care for the reasons_ _ **why**_ _she was upset, he only cared for the fact that she_ _ **was**_ _upset, and so gave his support anyway, to make her pain stop. Her flesh suddenly ached and she wanted nothing more._

 _What was she doing?! She rebuked herself harshly inside her mind. Shendu was a demon. The enemy. He was locked up for a reason. What if the others found this out and started to wonder if she eventually_ _ **would**_ _turn to the dark side, just as future-Jade had predicted? No – never! But was this so wrong? Shendu had very recently been so gentle when talking to her, his helpfulness since this whole Tarakudo mess sprung to memory. And after all, this was a dream, her imagination. As soon as she woke up, she wouldn't remember any of this and so the entire universe would be ignorant of it all. So why did she have to think so hard on this?_

 _She shivered, and Shendu's hand squeezed hers again. Once more, that sense of longing sprang to life. How long had it been since someone held her? She didn't know, and right now… she didn't care._

 _It was her that made the first move. That, for some reason, was important. She pulled her hand from his, turned to him and pushed her body into his chest. The Demon gave a small grunt of surprise, but then his huge arms encircled her and pulled her close against him. One of his hands softly combed her hair with his claws, and Valerie couldn't help the contented sigh and tears that escaped her. So close to warmth, sheltered from the world, a beating heart beneath her ear, she could just close her eyes and forget everything._

 _It was the first moment of peace she'd had in what felt like forever._

 _After sometime, Shendu began to hum a tune softly under his breath. His chest vibrated with the low notes and it soothed her greatly. The tiniest of smiles played at her lips… she never would have guessed he had such a lovely singing voice…_

* * *

Tarakudo decided that it was best to not hide indefinitely in the Shadow-Realm, yet the secluded spot at the edge of the earth was so dark it might as well have been. Somewhere in the distance, dew dripped from black rockwalls, a lazy 'pop' and sulphuric smells wafted through the air. The only thing that grew here was the wilted and wretched forms of moss and algae that cushioned underfoot yet sucked and pulled on the feet of those that stepped on it. There was no clatter of claws or skitter of feet. The only thing that remained of the living were tiny bones, shattered on the floor from a great fall, and crunched into dust upon a single touch. Shadows and darkness prevailed where no light dared to shine, yet all the occupants within could see clearly as if in daylight. Three demon-chi-possessed teenagers hung from the walls in a trance-like sleep. Tarakudo had ordered it of them, so that the masks would take over their minds without them even realising and unable to stop it whilst they slept. And in a corner were huddled six other mortal souls that whimpered and sniffled to themselves amidst the darkness.

Yes, this hideout was great, and was exactly what the Oni King believed the rest of the planet needed. This was the kind of face-lift he had in mind in terms of world-domination. A world covered in shadows, with no light to pierce the clouds, and all things wilting under his rule. It was something that not even his ancient days had ever come close to, yet now it felt like his shot was close at hand. The mortal world was nothing like the shadow-realm, and Tarakudo almost lamented that loss; as well as the loss of not taking refuge in his own kingdom. For that was how he had gotten imprisoned in there in the first place, after all.

The very reminder was enough to have the stones around him tremble as his telekinesis took effect without him even noticing. Ah yes, that was the whole reason for his vengeance upon this realm in the first place. Shendu had locked him inside his own realm for centuries, turned his own creation into a prison. That _debt_ needed to be repaid. And whilst Tarakudo longed to find and destroy his hated enemy, he was not so foolish as to go unprepared. No. He needed to amass his armies, grow his power, or at least find a weakness in Shendu that he could exploit.

Which then brought him a rather prompt reminder of his other guest in the hideaway. His new Queen of the Shadowkhan.

Unlike the demon sorcerers who saw every powerful being as competition that must be eliminated or bested (particularly amongst themselves), Tarakudo recognised the value in something as wonderful as a fellow creature of darkness. When the girl stole power from the mark she now bore upon her flesh, he did not see it as competition, but rather as a christening of a new soul into the forces of darkness. A protégé, an apprentice, sounded like a rather fine idea. Not to mention the fact that the girl could hold some rather valuable information.

Her face was scrunched up in concentration, her arms held outward, eyes closed. Tarakudo could feel her attempting to summon his Shadowkhan through his mark that she wore. For the sake of amusement, he decided to withhold it from her a moment, to see what she did. The brows lowered further and further, lips slowly distorting to reveal fangs in a snarl. Veins in her neck and forehead bulged, hands tightened into fists. The pull on the mark grew stronger with her frustration. Tarakudo was surprised – she was exceedingly strong willed. Dispite his better judgement, one shadow lengthened and threatened to morph into a pool for a Shadowkhan to emerge. He glared at it, and the shadow 'popped'.

Jade screeched in fury – and Tarakudo took great amusement that she didn't seem aware he had thwarted her. Red eyes seethed in the young face and her scream shook the cavern. The humans in the corner were awoken and began to prattle amongst themselves in a panic. Tarakudo ignored them, and thought it a prompt to sweep in and 'save the day', as it were.

"Ah, attempting to harness the forces of darkness within, Your Grace?" he asked innocently, bright green eyes seeming to light the cavern on fire.

"Yes, Lord Tarakudo," the girl mumbled with the respectful tone he had demanded of all his followers. She glared down at her empty grey-blue hands. "Though I am still plagued with the same level of incompetency as before."

"Patience, young one. With time, your power will come – and my tutelage, of course."

She leapt to her feet, greedy excitement etched into every feature. "You'll teach me?!"

"Indeed, just swear your loyalty to me, and I will let you know every dark secret to the ways of shadow-magic." He grinned, could feel the way the dark magic possessing her veins was bringing out all the nasty vices in her soul, to drown the good until it might eventually die. Only then would she completely claimed by darkness. "Your power will be unequalled to any on earth…"

"Tch," her smile fell and a sardonic frown replaced it. "And have another grown up tell me what to do? No thanks."

"Oh, don't be so down, my Queen." he told her sweetly. "I am not like those other mortals who tied you to their side. I see what you really are."

She looked a little hopeful. "You do?"

"Yes. I see the raw potential inside of you, it is fit to bursting. Your uncle and family would have made you never use it, they would have let it waste away – along with everything you could be. Such a let-down. I, on the other hand, will make that potential grow and bloom into the true force of destruction you really are!"

"You can do that?"

"Oh, summer-child, I can do that and _more_." His grin grew so wide his large fangs jutted past his black lips. With each word he spoke, he could feel her excitement, her greed, all growing to match his. The girl had unwittingly told him the one thing he could now use to entice her over completely: "By my side, you will rule legions, will control vast armies – and never again will you fade into obscurity! Your uncle Jackie wouldn't let you do anything, would he? Everything will be different with me… _Jade…"_

She all but fell to her knees as she proclaimed loudly, "Tarakudo! I promise! I swear to be loyal!"

"Very good. Together we will crush all those who oppose us."

The ferocity that lit up her fanged smile was almost feral. "I want the statue!"

Tarakudo frowned. "Statue?"

"Shendu – he's locked up in Section 13, petrified in stone. After everything he's done to me, I wanna watch him _scream_."

This… was an interesting development. Indeed, the child had proven to be a good source of information indeed. Tarakudo had been wondering where Shendu and the other Demon-Sorcerers were hiding. He couldn't feel their presence as strongly as he had before his banishment, yet to hear that Shendu was alive and trapped and a sitting duck waiting to be shot? The interest in his voice was unable to be beaten down as he leaned in closer to the girl. "Really?"

"Apart from nearly killing me _several_ times? Tch. That jerk's got it coming! Last time we met, I couldn't do anything to stop him – now… it'll be a different story." The distant wishful look she grew Tarakudo thought was rather especially nasty.

"The power of the Shadowkhan is something he shall reckon with indeed," he promised.

"Yeah, and he won't have his _Other_ to help him."

Tarakudo froze.

"He won't have his _what?_ "

"Oh, that's right – you don't know." Her smirk was a little too smug for his liking at his ignorance. "Shendu bonded himself with his Other-Half. When he's out of that stone casing…" she made a long low whistle noise. "I'm telling you, there was nothing any of us could've done to stop him. Not even when he had all the talismans and his own shadowkhan was he as powerful as that."

The floating head came to within inches of the girl, eyes burning his demand. "Who is it? Who is his _Other_?"

"Valerie – the blonde from the museum. A liar and a harlot. My future-self warned me of her betrayal. Only now do I see it with clear eyes. The junior-fire-demon is her and Shendu's spawn from the future, trapped in this time."

"Well… I've certainly missed out on _a lot_ of things…" he murmured thoughtfully. Oh yes, all of this definitely called for a change in plan. If not for the fact that Shendu was vulnerable to attack, Tarakudo was not stupid enough to allow an enemy to live now so that they could have the opportunity to grow stronger against him later – **_especially_** not in this case. He turned to the girl again, and awarded her a conniving smile. "Jade, my queen, I don't suppose you could get us back _into_ Section 13?"

* * *

The lifeless, soulless creature stared back at her. Valerie didn't have the energy to even be repulsed by it. All she'd do was break her fist when the mirror shattered. Lack of sleep had made her eyes become sunken and her cheeks hollow. Skin pale and almost see-through, every bump and miss-step caused a bruise that showed up in great contrast. Her hair was unkempt from days of not having the motivation to even brush it, just chucked it up into a messy bun to get it out of her face. She looked more like a zombie than a living human being. It had gotten to the point that Jackie and Nat had insisted that she stay in Section 13 in order to keep an eye on her.

She couldn't take much more of this. The guilt was eating her alive. If only she'd been faster, stronger, _better_ , Jade would still be here. This wasn't like when the girl had been taken by Hsi Wu – then, she'd known that she'd still get Jade back, that the demon wouldn't harm her. But she'd seen Jade _change_ , all because she hadn't done enough to save her. It didn't matter what Jackie or the others told her, she knew that the fault was entirely on her. She was to blame for this, and every day that the girl wasn't home safe and sound was another failure on her part.

She stared at the scar on her palm, and for a moment cursed it as well as implored it. She despised the fact that she had this insane thing she didn't want, yet it had been of no use to her when she'd actually needed it. And then she also wished she'd paid it more attention, harnessed that power so that she could be as powerful as legend rumoured she could be; as powerful as she had been in the re-written reality. If she had, then Jade would still be here. And now the frustration at how the good-guys were apparently not making any progress to get her back was burning inside her stomach. Come on! She was a little girl! An innocent child! If they couldn't pull out all the stops to save her, then what was the point?

It was this deep anger that had brought Valerie to this moment, this one decision. She stared at her palm; fingers tightened into a fist. A few days ago, she'd asked herself how far was she willing to go to protect the ones she cared about, and the answer came to her now: all the way. There was nothing she wouldn't do, nothing she wouldn't sacrifice. The conventional method had failed. Now, Val was going to get Jade back and reunite their family, no matter the cost.

Perhaps it was an illusion brought on by her exhaustion and turbulent emotions, yet she felt something pulling at her mind, calling to her, leading her feet away from the bathroom and down the many corridors of Section 13. On autopilot, she was unaware of her destination until she had bypassed the doors to the vault and stepped inside. She awoke as if from a trance to find herself before Shendu. Again, her heart was unsettled, as she seemed to _feel_ the statue's unrest and apprehension.

"What is it?" her breath came out in a small whisper.

Shendu's voice was grave. "He is here."

The shadows exploded all around them, a flurry of bodies and dark magic that left a stench behind to cloud the nose overwhelmed Valerie. She spun, coughed and spluttered, her brain was half convinced this was some trick of the light, another illusion placed upon her by her exhaustion. Yet several blinks later, and the mirage still had not faded. A small task force of Shadowkhan had invaded the vault. Razorkhan and other monstrosities glared at her with their soulless, dead eyes. Tarakudo and Queen-Jade floated together in the centre of the congregation, malicious grins on their faces. Valerie felt her knees quake as she realised how utterly alone she was at this precise moment.

"Ah, Mrs Valerie," Tarakudo cooed in a sickly-sweet voice. "You'll forgive me for not recognising who you were before – we were not formerly introduced. I am here however to see if your husband-dearest is home?" Those green eyes caught sight of the statue behind her. "Ah! Excellent! Just the Demon I wanted to see."

A malevolent serpentine hiss thundered out of the statue, just before Shendu's voice came out cold and hard. "Tarakudo. I would get up to greet you, but you're not exactly worth my time – the centuries have not been good to you."

"Could say the same for you, Shendu. You're looking a little _stone_ - _faced_ these days."

"It might be the only chance you have of surviving this encounter. I am much changed since last we met."

"Indeed, so I have learned." That cold stare shifted back to Valerie and she gulped. He _knew_ , and it made her stomach contract violently with dread. "You got yourself a baby-momma."

A buzz came from the back of Valerie's skull, almost to the point of pain. And then, she heard a voice echo through her thoughts – Shendu's voice. _Gather the Talismans. Only two that will be most useful, never mind the rest – his magic makes him incompatible to use them._

She tried so hard not to visibly freak out, to root herself and remain composed and unaffected and not give anything away to Tarakudo. She eyed the Talismans that had fallen from their pedestal when the shadow-demons had entered the vault. _How are you in my head?!_ She thought back at the voice.

 _Another conversation for another time – now hurry!_

"As much as I would love for tea and cake," Tarakudo was saying as Valerie focused back on the conversation, "I have a vendetta that needs repaying…"

She lunged forward and scooped up two talismans. The Dragon and the Rabbit. As before, Valerie felt their power seep into her skin and settle at her core with ease. She held up the Dragon like a gun pointed at the floating head. "Take another step, and you'll regret it."

"You shall not talk to Lord Tarakudo that way – I will crush you!" Queen-Jade hissed venomously, her hair thrashing wildly as she glared murderously at Valerie.

The woman stared at the child, tears making her eyes glisten. "Jade… what has he done to you?"

"I'll just let you two ladies catch up," Tarakudo dismissed as he floated towards the statue. "Shendu and I need a chat about guy-things."

Valerie shot a bolt of fire to try and stop Tarakudo, which the floating head only just managed to duck. The wall behind him exploded and several bricks rained down to the floor. He growled, and eager to not again be caught by his mental-chokehold, Valerie ran. The speed with which her legs moved almost had her stomach feel sick as she whizzed across the room and out of his line of fire in the space of a millisecond. She raised her hand to fire again, when a body floated in front of her aim. Valerie instantly faltered and Jade grinned with sickening triumph. The woman's fingers trembled around the talisman as she beheld the girl. Jade lurched forward, and Valerie took two steps back. Razor-khan slowly engulphed her on either side. They were blocking her into a corner, but Valerie was helpless to do anything as she stared sadly at her once-friend.

"Jade, you need to snap out of this," she pleaded softly. "Whatever Tarakudo has done to you, we can fix it – I promise."

"This face ain't listening, Val. So why don't you talk to the hand – or a dozen!" Jade thrust her fist forward with a screech. Simultaneously, the shadowkhan around leapt at her, fists and claws out to skewer her.

Valerie didn't think, just reacted. Her hand came up. A warmth spread down her arm and burst out of her hand. Fire swept in a wave that engulphed the shadowkhan. In an instant, the turned to ash. An opening in their ranks appeared, and before she could even finish the thought to take it, the world blurred and she was on the other side of the room. Valerie's head spun, the speed of the Rabbit a little too much for her stomach to handle so suddenly. But then it settled and she had no room to focus on anything else. Queen-Jade sent more of her minions after the blonde with a screech, and it was all Valerie could do to keep up with the leaping, slashing figures with the Dragon Talisman's fire.

Yet the young woman was not aware of how a shadow congealed and took form on the floor behind her. A Razorkhan stood claws slowly raised to slice off her head. Valerie only became aware that something was there when she heard a familiar shout.

She spun, and Jackie was there tackling the Razorkhan to the floor. Nat was right behind him, and as soon as he rolled out of the way, she plunged her sword into the shadow-demon's gut. With a flash of blue smoke, the Razorkhan disintegrated.

"Need a little hand?" Nat asked with a lopsided smile.

Valerie felt her knees wobble with relief. "You have no idea!"

Across the room, oblivious to all others, Tarakudo and Shendu faced against one another, as if in their own little bubble. The hiss that emenated from the statue was so deep and raw, the air trembled around him. Red eyes glowed dangerously hot, the very substances of the universe were drawn around and into him to gather like storm clouds preparing to strike. Tarakudo approached, scowl firmly in place. His mind focused with all its strength as he tried to unseat the statue from its positioning on the wall. With a snarl, Shendu unleashed the energy within that sprung unseen yet felt as if a force of nature shot forth and blasted into the world with the strength of a freight train. Tarakudo met it with his own power. To all those that watched, it was as if the two merely stared at one another, yet the subtle things was what would alert them. Talismans, glass, even the bricks of the building vibrated from the aftershocks. The very elements of the prison around Shendu shook at the destructive display.

"You banished me for a thousand years!" shouted Tarakudo with fury. "Such transgressions will not go unpunished."

"I will like to see you try!"

Across the room, Valerie felt a small margin of her strength be sapped. An instant later, Shendu unleashed a blast of green light that Tarakudo only barely managed to avoid. With a tiger-like roar, the Oni King retaliated with his own light show. Chi met Chi between them, two forks of lightning that battled for dominance. The ground beneath the sparking, angry, tangling powers began to erode where it was so close to the blast.

Tarakudo grit his teeth. "Indeed, you have become powerful, Shendu. But I will still smash you into rubble!"

"You will not. I am a completed half!"

"Inconsequential! Tiamat was my only equal – I will surpass you!"

"Do you feel it – shadow- _worm_?!" Shendu spat out. The green lightning he controlled grew thicker, nastier, more aggressive as it beat against Tarakudo's defences. Shendu cackled, even as at the corner of his statue form, a tiny crack began to split under the pressure. "That is a smidgen of the force of **_true_** power! Savour this small glimpse of hope you have. For it is only this stone casing which restricts me from tearing you asunder. If I were free of this skin, you would be in trouble."

"We shall see who is – _argh!_ "

A blast of fire hit the side of Tarakudo's floating face. The Oni King recoiled away, breaking the spell between him and Shendu. Where he'd once stood, Drago dropped down from the vent in the ceiling. "Sorry I'm late. Security's gone up since I last dropped by."

Shendu did his best to give the junior fire demon a deadpan look. "Took you long enough, _Boy_."

"If I were you, dad, I'd quite yappin' and start zappin'!"

And then it was almost the very definition of a free-for all. Shendu and Drago fought any Shadowkhan that came too close, and even Tarakudo when the furious shadow-king got his bearings back and launched himself back at them. Nat, Jackie and Valerie fought back against the barrage Jade sent after them. It was chaos. Valerie used the fire and speed talismans as much as she could in order to keep ahead of the fight. It was in times like this that she desperately wished Jackie had taught her more defensive skills to make herself more useful in this kind of situation. It was such a rush around the room she actually feared she would hit one of her own guys by accident! Eventually, there came an ever so slight lull, a time in every fight where there is just a singular moment of pause on both sides until they launched back into the fray.

Nat panted, her tongue flicking out to taste the cut on her lip. "I'll take the one on the left."

Jackie nodded and in a moment of desperation ran towards the Shadow-Queen. "I'll get Jade!"

"No thanks, uncle-dear." Jade smirked and with a wave of her hand two Shadowkhan tackled Jackie to the ground before he could reach her. "Val and I have some unfinished business to attend to…"

Valerie was completely unprepared for the blast of dark magic which hit her square in the face. The young woman was knocked flying, as if someone had punched her in the nose. The talismans left her hands when she hit the floor, and she felt suddenly naked without them to defend her. The young Queen floated above her foe, a sick grin stretching her cheeks to an unnatural length. Claw-like-fingers splayed wide, she raked them through the air, and Valerie's own shadow turned against her. Hands shot out of the dark and seized Valerie's wrists and pulled her down.

Struggling, Valerie attempted to pull free with all she had. An icy ball of panic made her stomach clot. Without thinking, she reached into that pit that had only been of help in the most convenient of times. It coiled around her, held back by her own hesitation until it burned the back of her skull with the pressure. Jade watched her confliction and her malicious grin grew wider still. A blue hand materialised out of the shadows and reached for her neck. She fought, desperate to not let the chilling flesh touch her. The force behind her eyes threatened to choke her just as effectively.

"Let it out, Valerie!" Shendu shouted from across the room.

Dynamite detonated inside her, and Valerie shrieked with pain as a small green flash erupted from her hand. It wasn't large, or by any means powerful like what she could remember from the previous reality. But it was still strong enough that the shadow hands which imprisoned her disintegrated into ash in an instant.

She panted, sides heaving, her stomach roiling with pain. She dared to look up at the scowling girl-queen above her. "Jade! Stop this!"

"I have been ordered to kill you, Val. And what Lord Tarakudo wants, I give to him. He is my one true master – and I will have your head! SO FIGHT BACK!" Jade screeched, as if outraged as she hurtled another blast of dark magic.

Valerie rolled out of the way, but otherwise did nothing. A flicker of hope sparked – could the girl be trying to tell her something? "Nothing you say will make me hurt you, Jade, if that's what you want. I will save you, I promise you that – I won't stop until you're free."

"Your bones will be dust before that arises – this is who I am!"

"Hello."

Everyone looked over to the vault door, to see Uncle and Tohru standing there. Whilst the huge Japanese man appeared extremely nervous as he stared wide-eyed at Tarakudo, the old Chi Wizard was smiling like a Cheshire Cat.

Jackie frowned. "Uncle?"

"Deal with the old goat!" Tarakudo snarled. Three Razorkhan sprang into the air, claws –

 _Zap-Zap-Zap!_

Uncle's puffer fish flicked left-right-left like a cowboy with a pistol. The Razorkhan, which had previously been resilient to his spells, disappeared in flashes of smoke. Uncle's smile grew so smug, he even decided to blow away non-existent smoke from the pufferfish. "Forces of darkness must try harder – we got upgrade!"

Everyone stared, wide eyed and mouths dropped open. Jackie couldn't help but smile back. "Uncle… your spells can do that?"

"Actually, that was me…" Tohru mumbled shyly. "Uncle asked me to create a greater stun spell, so I did."

"Fine!" Tarakudo shouted. "I'll do this myself!"

The Oni King rushed towards the pair, mouth wide, fangs gleaming. Tohru shivered all over with terror, and his hand fumbled for his pocket. As the Oni closed on him, he pulled something round out into the air. Valerie frowned – wait, was that…?

"Onion?" Uncle barked, just as surprised. "Do not be foolish, Tohru – use garlic."

But despite the absurdity, Tarakudo slammed on the breaks and came to a screeching halt in front of the pair. His green eyes went wide and the floating head hastily tried to put on the retreat. "Whoa… easy with that veggie, big fella!"

"Throw it!" Valerie yelled!

"ARGH! My eyes!" Tarakudo cried out when the onion smacked him straight in the face. Green tears leaked from his screwed-shut eyes. Though his eyes were closed, he still managed a bestial snarl of frustration. "This isn't done!"

Before Jade could voice her frustrations, Tarakudo was sucked into the shadows on the floor, and dragged with him Jade and every shadowkhan in the room. As they left, the room suddenly descended into a silence that seemed unnatural compared to the chaos that had ensued. The group that remained looked around at the remains of the vault, tarnished and a little battered from fighting.

Nat sighed and said the one thing on everyone's mind. "We are in _very_ serious trouble…"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter - sorry for the delay, I hope it was worth it ;)**

 **Yes, Nat's last line is a direct reference to "The Mummy" movie. I put it in here as direct defiance to the newest "reimagining". I call that blasphemy - nothing can beat the Brendan Fraser movie! I also thought you might like to know that there is a picture of Shendu and Valerie's moment from this chapter! Yay! Go check it out, its on my deviantart page.**

 **As always, a big thank you to InsanityisReality for being a great Beta. And please go check out the TV Tropes and 8-Tracks pages. They're awesome.**

 **(P.S. Could the guest reviewer Thunder Dragon please PM me so that we may chat in private about your challenge, as I don't want all my stories being filled up with this conversation. Thank you)**


	12. The Enemy Of My Enemy

The Enemy of My Enemy…

Easy to say the entire group was shell-shocked. Valerie paced back and forth, fingers working through her hair to try and de-stress. "What are we going to do?"

"What could make Jade like this?" Jackie asked Uncle frantically.

"Tattoo!" the old man exclaimed. "Uncle removed evil-tattoo once, he can do so again."

"I do not think that will work this time, Sensei. Tarakudo has bound Jade to him," Tohru piped up. Uncle seemed to deflate a little but Tohru continued, oblivious. "My mother would tell me stories that naughtier children would be taken by the Oni and their souls eaten… their bodies forced to be their slaves."

Nat shook her head and muttered. "This can't be real – it's just insane!"

"Tohru, what do we do? How do we get Jade back?" Jackie demanded.

"Are you being serious, Chan?" came Drago's scathing voice from across the room. He was sat on the floor, leant against the wall to catch his breath. One clawed hand cradled his bruised ribs. "Forget it, she's joined the Dark Side. Game over."

"No! I will not believe that!"

"You saw what happened here?! We almost got creamed – again. That thing's way too powerful, and you're worrying about some little girl?"

"She is my niece! It might not matter to a half-breed demon, but family is _everything_ to me."

In an instant, Drago was up and growling in Jackie's face. Jackie glared back unflinchingly, fists clenched and ready to strike out. Valerie made to move between them, but Uncle beat her to it. Two fingers on both hands lashed out and whacked the duo upside the head. They both recoiled and looked to Uncle in confusion.

"Stop fooling!" he screeched at them. "Need to find solution – not more problems!"

"Uncle's right." Valerie declared and all eyes turned to her. "We can't fight each other now… we need to work together."

 ** _"_** ** _WHAT?!"_** came every voice at once.

"Drago, you're right," she said and turned to the teenage dragon, which took not only everyone else but himself as well by surprise. "We were all nearly beaten again. But we held them off because we were all fighting. Imagine what we could do if we worked together?"

"Too far, Val!" Nat scowled. "You don't blur the lines with the enemy."

"My thoughts exactly, Red." Drago nodded and crossed his arms resolutely over his chest. "I'll never work with a Chan."

Valerie tutted impatiently. "Right now, we have a bigger enemy to face. Tarakudo threatens us all, and if we can't work as a team, we need to at least consider the possibility of a ceasefire until the matter is resolved."

Jackie glanced between her and Drago uncertainly. "And you really think we can trust a demon?"

Drago shot the look right back at Jackie. "You really think I'll trust a Chan?"

"Shut up, the lot of you. It's not about trust. This is about survival." In her desperation to find the winning argument, Valerie gestured to the statue on the wall behind them. "Shendu's even helped us when survival was more important."

Surprisingly, the usual serpentine hiss seemed to grunt in agreement. "Valerie is correct on the priorities here."

Jackie glared up at the imprisoned demon sorcerer. "You getting involved does not convince me!"

"You cannot escape the truth, Chan," Shendu retorted.

Drago's eyes shifted back and forth between the group. Valerie hoped his expression looked contemplative, perhaps even thoughtful. All she needed was for him to at least consider a truce. Whilst she did believe that it was the only way to defeat Tarakudo as a united front, it also played on her mind that Drago needed to be brought to the side of good. He was her son, but she didn't know him properly, and she needed to. She wanted to discover what had happened to him in his past. She wanted to if it really was too late to save him, or if redemption was still within reach.

Uncle scratched his chin, murmuring his thoughts aloud. "Must find other Oni masks – stop floating head from gaining more power."

"Yeah, then what?" Nat tapped her foot anxiously. "We can't put them on, he'll just take _us_ over. Once all the masks have been found, what's our next move?"

"The Demon Chi." Drago said in a low voice and his eyes snapped over to the containment unit across the room. Valerie felt her heart drop.

Jackie scowled at the half-demon. "Don't."

"No, think about it." He hissed as if they were all dumb. "Once bobble-head's got the masks, what's the next power-trip? He'll come after the Demon Chi."

"Are they even compatible with his own dark magic?" Valerie asked. "I mean, he can't use the Talismans because of that…"

Uncle regarded her, eyes narrowed with something close to suspicion that made her Adam's-apple bob. "How do you know this…?"

"Doesn't matter." Drago cut. "The Demon Chi is energy, it can be passed onto any host – with varying side effects. That's why humans can use it as well as demons."

Nat's brows furrowed as she began to comprehend what this meant. "So, if the Oni also get the Demon Chi…"

"He'll be unstoppable." Drago nodded.

Jackie didn't look impressed. "You only know this because it's what _you_ would do."

Drago growled lowly. "You wanna gamble I'm wrong?"

"Then we have little time." Tohru mumbled and quickly jogged across the room to pick up his onion from where it had fallen after hitting Tarakudo. The way he held was almost like a priest would hold his crucifix. "We must get to the Oni-King before the next Demon Chi reveals its location."

Valerie immediately turned to the junior fire demon. "Drago, are you with us?"

He blinked, again surprised. "Seriously?"

"Look at it this way: we're helping you keep a potential rival off your turf. And who knows? You might just enjoy yourself."

He seemed to like it when she have sarcastically made a joke with him. His lips quirked and the smallest hint of teeth poked through. After a long while, he nodded. "Okay, Mom. Deal."

"Must devise spell strong enough to banish Tarakudo… but how?" Uncle asked.

Shendu's voice carried ominously to them all across the vault. "There is only one way to defeat Tarakudo utterly, Chi-Wizard."

"What, banish him like you did?" Nat snorted. "Because that worked out _sooooooooooo well_."

"No, girl." Shendu snapped peevishly. "You must give him a body."

Uncle frowned. "A body?"

Valerie took a step closer to Shendu, her gaze distant as she tried to recall exactly what information they'd previously learned about the Oni King. "You said that Tarakudo did away with his body when you fought him before…"

"Exactly." Said Shendu. "Tarakudo is now a spirit-of-sorts. And as you are all aware through previous experiences, a spirit cannot be physically harmed."

"So…" came Drago's doubtful voice. "We pummel him when we give him a body?"

"No boy, use your brain and be _clever_ ," the red eyes flashed in irritation. "Tarakudo is king of all the Oni, all their magic is tied to him. Seal him away irreversibly, and all of them will be sucked in with him."

Finally, Jackie seemed to have had enough. His expression was angry, and he threw a death glare up at the unmoving statue. "And what, you think we're just going to do as you say?"

"Jackie, please–" Valerie tried to plead.

"No!" he shouted, and Valerie flinched away from him. He was so furious, almost as to when Captain Black had been hospitalised by Valmont. The man rounded on her, looming above her in a way that Valerie had once thought was so unlike him. "How can you stand there and ask for _his_ help – for any of their help?"

"They are demons, Valerie." Uncle tried to put in softly, convincingly. "They will betray us."

The blonde looked between them, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Whatever happened to 'the greatest battle is the victory not fought'? I choose to believe they can help us!"

"Well _this_ is the one battle I will fight." Jackie shot back. "Val, you know what they did – to us and you."

"Yes, I know what they did. But I don't care!" her temper finally snapped and she shouted right back in his face. Jackie looked surprised, and dare she think it, even _hurt_ by her outburst. But she was unchanging in her decision. "I don't. I just want Jade back, no matter the cost."

"You don't think I do? But how can we trust anything he says when he's tried to kill us so many times?"

"And what if his help could be the only way we get Jade back _unharmed_? Did you think of that? We can't let this go. Not when we have so little time."

Silence. Honey brown met the unwavering gaze of water blue and held it. Friend fought friend in this silent battle of wills. Until finally, Jackie shook his head and stepped back, turned, and walked away. "Then you'll do it on your own."

Valerie was in shock. She didn't believe she heard correctly, even as she saw him marching away towards the door. "Wait – what? No! Jackie, you can't–"

"If you want to risk this, that's on you. I won't be part of it."

"B-But…" she looked helplessly to the old man and mentor. "Uncle! I just–"

The wizard wanted to look anywhere but at her as he followed Jackie out. "Jackie will need my spells. Good Chi always defeats bad. No good can come of bad chi fighting bad chi."

"Tohru?"

The sumo looked to the floor. "I'm sorry, Valerie."

And just like that, the three men left. Valerie watched the space where they had been, even after their places had been left empty and abandoned for what felt like some time. She couldn't function, couldn't fathom how she had lost control of everything so quickly. A hollow, broken part of her was weeping for the loss of her friends, and Valerie truly doubted herself in that moment. Was she wrong? Should she run after her friends and join them once more? No, she realised. It wouldn't work even if she tried. And then her eyes found the solitary redhead stood some distance away, gazing out of the vault door, her expression torn.

"Please, Nat," Valerie begged in a whisper. "Don't go."

Those green eyes found hers and didn't both to hide how uncomfortable she felt. "I'm a demon-slayer, and you want me to team up with them?"

"Isn't Tarakudo the worse threat?" she tried to say, even if the words felt hollow in her own throat. "Nat, sometimes we have to do things we don't like for the greater good. Please, I'm begging you to just… _trust me."_

She must've seen something truly pitiful in Valerie to warrant sympathy, for after a time, she sighed, and said: "One wrong move. They make _one wrong move,_ Val, and we're done. Clear?"

Valerie nodded, at least some part of her was saved. For a moment, the thoughts, the doubts, they plagued her like a swarm of locusts, eating away at her resolve. The image of the cold and ruthless future Jade came to mind. Was she correct? Was Valerie slowly but surely turning away from her friends, forsaking good and embracing darkness and demons? It couldn't be that simple, the decision didn't weigh on her mind at this moment, only its consequences.

"Are you well, Valerie?" came a soft voice behind her. She turned to Shendu, gazed into those warm red eyes, and for a moment she saw herself reflected there. Warm breath ghosted over her neck, tickled her hair, like knuckles brushing against her cheek. It banished a cold she hadn't even known was creeping across her skin.

"No. No, I'm really not. I never thought they'd…" she whispered truthfully. She brushed away a stray tear before it could fall. She once again looked back into that stone face. "Please tell me I didn't just go through that for nothing."

"You didn't. I will help you."

She couldn't stop a disbelieving chortle. "I almost feel compelled to ask why on earth you would help me save Jade. You hate her."

"I do." He conceded. Yet still that hard and simultaneously sincere gaze never left his red eyes. "But you want the child safe. I might prefer her to suffer eternal torment, and whilst I might not like that dream otherwise coming true – I know it will make _you_ happy. That is all that matters to me."

She was speechless. Her eyes blinked, her mouth opened but no words would come out. Although known of his words were very surprising, she was unexpectedly _moved_ by them. He was still as ruthless and cruel to others as he ever had been, but was willing to do anything for her happiness, to think of her. And no that did not make him any better of a person. It changed nothing, she told herself. But still she remembered her dream, of his arms around her, comforting her. She blushed, and wondered what he would say if he knew about it.

"Okay Mom, how is this 'wonder-team' gonna do anything?" Drago's voice seemed overly loud after the silence and spooked her out of her thoughts.

She whirled around to face an expected demon and slayer. In her attempt to cover up her blunder, she stammered for words. "Well, we need to lock Tarakudo away, along with every Oni… how?"

Shendu, helpfully provided an answer. "In _his_ mask."

"He's gotta mask?" Drago frowned.

"He locked it away in the shadow realm, far from the reach of any mortal." Shendu said. "The masks act as prisons, put one on Tarakudo–"

"And he's sealed up – gone for good." Valerie finished the same thought that occurred to her.

One could practically hear the smile in Shendu's voice. "Exactly."

Valerie paced back and forth, her finger tapping against her chin as she spoke her thoughts aloud. "Okay then, how can we give him a body? I'm guessing that's powerful magic involved, and we'd need him to come to us, right? He won't come back to finish you off, not until he knows he can beat us for sure. So what we need–"

"– Is the right bait. Considering the masks are his primary goal, we can lure him in to reclaim those we have stolen." Shendu finished.

Nat leaned back on one heel, arms crossed. "What about the kid?"

"We shall need to perform an exorcism to rid the girl of the dark magic corrupting her. Sooner rather than later." Muttered Shendu. "And considering the power Tarakudo seems to have invested in her–"

"If we steal her away with us, he won't be able to resist coming to get her." A cunning look came over Valerie as she looked back up at the demon-statue. "We'll have two traps for the price of one."

His voice seemed to be grinning now. Perhaps they were grinning at each other. "I like the way we think, dear Valerie."

"A-hem." Came a little cough. Valerie turned pink when she noticed Nat giving her an unimpressed look. "Are you two done?"

"Where do we find another mask?" Drago asked to cut the conversation back on track.

"There is one that I know of," said Shendu. "Tarakudo might not know its location just yet. Bring it back, and not only will it be the perfect bait, I will be able to control its shadowkhan remotely."

"Okay, where is it?"

"At my palace… in Hong Kong."

Valerie groaned. But, it was time to get down to business. "Great. Nat? You and Drago take a plane to Hong Kong and get the mask."

Nat gaped incredulously. "Are you kidding me?! Why can't _you_ go?"

"I'm going to get everything ready for the exorcism spell. You heard what we said earlier, we're on the clock. We've got to get this done quickly."

So it was that Nat and Drago traversed to San Francisco airport that night. Nat used her credit card to book the plane tickets, and they managed to bypass security when Drago snuck into the cargo hold. Nat preferred it that way, he couldn't gross her out by squeezing into the seat beside her. When they arrived at Hong Kong, they quickly met back up outside the airport and stole – though Nat would prefer the term _borrowed_ – a car to get out to the middle of nowhere outside the city. Drago drove, seeing as how he claimed to know where the palace was located from having been there in the future. When they came to the site, all that was left was a ruined building that was half crumbling and half already turned to dust.

"Ahhh, home sweet home." Drago announced as he breathed in the musty air when he threw open the doors.

"Its… _lovely_." Nat murmured sarcastically as she pushed over a rotten door. It crumbled underneath her hand. In distaste, she wiped it on her leathers.

"The place always did have a rustic charm, don't you think?" Drago went along with the charade as he carefully lead the way down the many halls. Nat wondered if he took it too far when he grinned at her over his shoulder, his teeth a little too pointed. "Wanna see my room?"

Nat didn't even bother to hide her disgusted sneer. " _Must_ you flirt?"

"Just an urge you awaken in me, Red. I like to push your buttons." She knew it was true by the glint in his eyes that said he was _far_ too pleased with himself to gross her out.

"Supress it."

Through hanging vines and half collapsed stairwells, they made their way into the bowels of the palace. Passed the dungeons, where Nat felt a shiver run up her spine at all the various torture equipment that lined the walls, like someone had just walked over her grave. Though she couldn't understand why. Further down until they reached why Drago called the Vault. There they saw many artefacts that lay in various states of disrepair. Some golden items looked like they'd turned to sand. Yet in one corner of the room, was an ornate wooden chest, with faded and rotten pictures carved into the lid, too corroded to make out.

With one hard wrench, Drago tore off the lid, where they beheld a purple Oni mask on a pillow of rotting satin. Funny though, how the mask didn't seem at all touched by the hands of decay. Nat hurriedly snatched it up and stuffed the thing into her bagpack, where it would hopefully cause no harm. Her fingers tightened around her sword hilt. This was going too well, and the enemy could have been drawn here by any means. They needed to leave and quickly. With a nod to Drago, the pair of them carefully yet hurriedly made their way back out of the palace.

* * *

Hsi Wu sat in deep meditation in the endless hell that was his new home. He didn't know how much time had passed since his Other had been changed from him, all he knew was that he hated every second of it.

Seeing as he had no spell-books or actual equipment with which to conjure potions or spells, he needed to rely on his mind. Hence, meditation. And oh, he would need a powerful spell indeed for what he planned. Not only did he wish for his Other to be returned to him, but he had to take the opportunity to escape incarceration. Anything to escape this abominable place – no matter the cost!

Oh yes, dark magic indeed would be needed here. Mother would certainly not approve, whereas father would've been ecstatic. But it was only through dark magic that he planned to fully bring his Other back into his thrall. No matter what dark path she had strayed down, he would set her back to rights. And the little thing just might be his ticket out of here in return…


	13. Shadow-Bound

**Author's Note: I know! I know it's been a REALLY long time since I last updated. Please don't kill me! I swear to you all that this story is not dead. It is very much alive, as this long chapter will undoubtedly show you. Writer's block, Real life problems, other work-loads and such just made me push this update back time and time again. And I am really sorry for that. I had hoped to get this out in January but... yeah, that didn't work out. Hopefully, as I'm wrapping up a few other stories and lightening my work load, I'll be back to update this soon.**

 **Please review - all comments welcome!**

* * *

Shadow-Bound

* * *

Valerie hated sneaking in. She hated the idea of breaking and entering. She hated the idea of stealing. The only reconciliation she could justify in her mind, was that this was not _technically_ any of those things. It was merely coincidence she was walking up to Uncle's shop when she knew no one was around. It wasn't breaking and entering if she used her own key. And she wasn't stealing any books, specifically, simply borrowing…

No, she still felt like an asshole for doing this.

The sting of Jackie's rejection, of the others leaving her, it was still very fresh in her mind. And this only felt like petty payback. But it wasn't. She wished desperately that the others would come around, would see things from her point of view. But this needed to be done. They needed to get Jade back, they needed to stop Tarakudo. If that meant breaking the laws of friendship, then so be it. She would deal with their hate on another day. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, as her mother might say. Though Val didn't consider herself the religious sort anymore, it was another justification she added to her cowardice.

The shop was dark when she snuck through into Uncle's library. The musty smell of dust and old worn pages once made her feel welcomed, it made her think of home. Now it felt like every antique, every book, every wall had eyes that watched her with sneering disapproval. They wondered what would dare make her come back here after the stunt she pulled. Valerie gulped and shook her head. Those thoughts weren't helping! She shoved them aside as she gently closed the library door behind her. Her mind thought back to the great order she'd put these books in, and immediately went to the shelf she knew her quarry would be kept. Shendu had instructed her to research into specific areas of magic that they would need. The spells needed would be complicated and nasty to perfect within a short space of time. Even though Valerie had the power of her Other connection, even Shendu admitted that it was just raw-energy, not a click-of-fingers-perfection in all magic. It made her a lightning bolt, not a magic wand.

Her fingers ran along the spines of her old companions as her eyes darted from book to book. A small torch in her hand helped her to find her way – she dared not turn on the light for fear it might attract attention. Not only was she trying to avoid Jackie and the others, but she was also incognito from Tarakudo. Shendu warned that he might try something, such as come after her once she left the safety of Section 13. So she'd taken the Dragon and Rabbit Talismans just in case she had need of them. It was a good thing she could get back into Section 13 at all, she thought to herself. After Jackie had stormed away, Captain Black had finally showed up. Tarakudo had placed a spell that kept the other agents out of the vault, and his magic had only vanished once the onion-spell had taken full effect. Valerie had explained the situation, and fully expected Captain Black to side with Jackie. Although he hadn't been happy about it, Black had surprised the woman by agreeing with her. Section 13 was a ruthless organisation. They made the tough calls, made the decisions no one else could in order to get the job done. Black didn't participate, he said that to work with an enemy was too much. But having said that, he would do whatever it took to defeat Tarakudo. He was going to use Section 13's best resources to make sure civilians were well taken care of should any of Tarakudo's lackeys attempt anything.

 _CLICK._ The light flicked on.

Valerie froze on the spot. Slowly, she turned to the door.

Uncle stood in his dressing-gown, grey mop of hair more messed then usual. Valerie hadn't considered the late hour, it was gone midnight. Spectacles perched precariously on his hooked nose, the old man peered at her with an unwavering stare. For what felt like an eternity, Valerie just stood there, the books she'd already pinched held tightly against her breast. She stared, unable to move. Some part of her irrational mind thought maybe if she didn't move, he wouldn't see her. But there was no mistaking it, he'd seen her, and her heart hammered with panic. In that moment of dreaded fear, she was prepared to flee the moment he started shouting. They'd hate her forever for this!

The Chi wizard walked towards her, footsteps muffled by his fluffy slippers. Val's muscles tightened and quivered. Why wasn't he shouting? The suspense was killing her more surely than all his anger could. He stopped just a foot away. Without looking, he reached up to the shelves by her head, and gently pulled off a single thin volume. With the same care, he placed it into her arms alongside the others she held. Valerie felt her jaw drop open. She tried to find the words, but none would come out.

"Ancient Chinese Proverb: family is family," he murmured.

No words could be found. Only a smile, and an unfurled arm as Valerie couldn't help herself and pulled Uncle into a one-armed embrace. Softly, she felt his withered and wrinkled hand pat her shoulders. She pulled back with a watery smile.

"Thank you."

That small smile that tugged at the corners of his lips faded. "Remember Valerie: only good magic can defeat bad magic."

Nodding, the woman hurriedly put her books under her arm and jogged out of the shop. Uncle's words and demeanour haunted her mind, as she put the books in her bag once she managed to get in her car and drive off to her next destination. When she finally reached the right street, she recovered one book and flipped through the pages. The book was fairly old, though not ancient, but the language of the words used was enough to strain her already tired mind. And the night wasn't going to end any time soon.

 _'_ _You managed to get the books?'_ Came Shendu's voice through her mind.

Valerie thought she must've been so tired she was imagining his voice now, but the echo of a hum at the back of her skull proved real. She tried hard not to let her panic show. _'I'm gonna ask again: how are you in my head?'_

 _'_ _Our Chi's, our souls, our very beings are bound together,'_ he said. _'Is it such a leap in logic that this connection might grant this ability as well as others?'_

 _'_ _Does that mean you can read my thoughts?!'_ Even in her head, she sounded panicked and strangled.

 _'_ _No, Valerie, I cannot read your mind. That remains to me as much a mystery as ever.'_ He sighed, exasperated. _'Think of it as… as a phone call! One phone can connect to the other to relay a conversation between the two points. But that doesn't mean that either phone can look into any of the personal files on the other. It is the same with us. I'm broadcasting specifically to you, and it is making the connection back. I'm not fully inside your head. Just a string.'_

 _'_ _I don't know whether that analogy makes it easier to understand or not... So why haven't you done this before? The first time I ever heard you was when Tarakudo showed up.'_

 _'_ _You have been a little unreceptive to me up until that point. I thought it better not to antagonise you further.'_

 _'_ _Any other bombshells you'd care to drop while you're at it?'_

 _'_ _You wouldn't care for them anyway, so what's the point?'_ he tutted. Rolling her eyes, Valerie tried to 'cut-the-connection' and focus once more on her book. It didn't last long, however, before Shendu's voice crept back into her consciousness. ' _You managed to find what you needed?'_

 _'_ _Yeah, I just hope this trick of yours works.'_

 _'_ _It will. Believe in your own ability, and you will not fail.'_

 _'_ _But how can I? I don't know a thing about what I'm doing.'_

 _'_ _I will be there to guide you. And I believe in you. What else is there that you need?'_

She was rendered speechless by the sincerity she heard in his voice. The whispered warmth that edged at his tone spoke truth. Damn it, she believed him. Once again her dream came to mind, though she banished it quickly, for fear that he'd been lying and could see her thoughts anyway. She'd read far too many young-adult novels to realise the potential embarrassment she could suffer should Shendu get even a peak in there. She bit her lip and wondered why it mattered so much – it shouldn't, right? She had nothing to hide, her words were the truth. At least she believed so…

Frustrated she tossed the book back into her bag, unable to absorb any of it with her mind in such great turmoil. Zipping up her jacket, she stared out at the dark abandoned playpark on the opposite side of the street. Despite the spring season, dew clung to the squeaking metal roundabout and swing-set, the droplets slipping down the length of the slide that harshly reflected back the light of a street lamp. The grass looked well-trodden on from dozens of tiny feet over the week, and the path leading through the park was caked in mud and faded chalk graffiti. Valerie gulped. Not exactly a place she wanted to be at this time of night. But, with little choice, she carefully climbed out of the car and made her way into it. The squeak of the swing's chains screeched at her like the voices of spectres reaching out across the void. Somewhere beyond the light of the streetlamp in the dark, a cat yowled, and a glass bottle shattered. Valerie tried her best to keep hold of her nerves, but didn't succeed very well.

"Alright then. All we need is bait…" she mumbled, sneakers fidgeting on the gravel with her anxiety. Nothing for it now, though, she realised. Staring down at her left palm, she watched the long jagged scar carefully as her mind reached deep within for that coiling serpentine warmth locked away in the pit of her soul. As she felt it come at her summons, felt it entwine with her and fill her being, the scar along her palm suddenly glowed white-hot, a faint green glow encircling her hand. Valerie imagined her body lighting up like a beacon amidst darkness, and hoped her power reflected her wish. "Come on, Jade. Come and get me."

Nothing. Valerie had been hoping and dreading some kind of grand entrance, some immediate answer. But the park was silent. So quiet not even the swings creaked. The young woman waited, eyes darting at every tickle of a breeze or scuff of critters along the ground. Her heart hammered, the anticipation as bad as any jump-scare. Absently, her hand reached into her pocket and fingered the dragon talisman. The warmth it shot through her being now seemed like a comfort to her.

Beneath the metal round-about, the shadows lengthened and solidified. The roundabout spun, faster and faster, until it became an indistinguishable blur and wind whipped out from its momentum. From this hurricane of nature and oily shadows, a figure bloomed out from within. Queen Jade floated ten feet above the ground, her dark hair a matted mess. If it were possible, her skin appeared more ashen blue than before, her eyes a fiercer red. The robes she wore undulated like tentacles about her, and her manic grin held pointed fangs.

"Hello, Valerie!" the girl crowed. "Look at this, all by yourself. Don't you know it's better to have safety in numbers?"

"I could say the same to you…" Valerie said, hiding her thrill when she realised that Jade alone had taken the bait and Tarakudo had not manifested here with her. Thoughts of an easy win, however, were quickly crushed when Jade snapped her fingers and a dozen RazorKhan appeared at her side. The blonde shrank away. "Okay, never mind."

Valerie ran, hand sinking into her pocket as she brought out the Dragon Talisman. Aiming blindly, she thrust her arm out behind her, and felt the warm zap travel through her a millisecond before a fireball incinerated two Shadowkhan. The others dodged around it, and came for her again. She kept running, unable to think of what else to do. What was the next stage of the plan again?! Honestly, she hadn't thought to make it this far. And now any careful preparations were gone from her mind.

A Razorkhan burst out of the ground in front of her. With a screech, Valerie skidded to a stop and dug her other hand back into her pocket. The Razorkhan swung his long sickle-like-fingers, only for them to pass through air when the young woman sped away around him. Zooming up the slide, Val perched her feet on the top of the slick metal and pointed the Dragon at the ninjas she'd left behind. A powerful stream of fire erupted from her hand and engulphed her attackers. With a puff of smoke they vanished. Before she could savour her victory, however, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a dark black cloud shoot towards her. With a yelp, the Rabbit had her racing away to duck behind a bulky seesaw.

Jade cackled from across the playground. "Oooh, better pick up your game, Valerie. You know you can't take me by yourself."

A hand appeared out of the shadow on the ground and reached up to snatch at Valerie's ankle. Screaming in fright, Valerie hastily shook it off and leapt to her feet. She almost stumbled head-first into the arms of a waiting Razorkhan, and only the quickly mental command to the Rabbit managed to get her to dodge out of the way in time. There was no cover afforded to her that wasn't condensed in shadows. Valerie's mind came to the quick conclusion that the only safe place then, was beneath the lamp which offered the park the barest form of illumination. Stumbling on pointed limbs, the Razorkhan stalked towards her, deliberately slowly. Behind them Queen-Jade loomed in the air, grinning like a child at her own entertainment.

An idea sparked to life like the proverbial lightbulb flash. Crazy, suicidal and mean, Val instantly cringed away from the thought of it, but had no choice. This fight needed to be evened out. "Then take me by _yourself_ ," her eyes found Jade, and she made sure to mimic one of Valmont's nastiest condescending sneers she remembered. "Big-Queen-Jade have to rely on all her new toys to take me out? Can't do it yourself?"

"Shut your mouth!" the girl snarled, her glee instantly gone. Arm pointed, the Razorkhan leapt at her command. Valerie blasted them out of the air with a sweep of fire.

"Tut-tut, watch your language, young lady," her sneer turned into a smirk. "I'd hate to have to send you to bed without dinner."

The thunder that was felt through the air shook Valerie's bones. Jade's face contorted into a horrendous monstrosity of fury and hate. Her black hair stood on end, and the ends of her dress whipped about in a frenzy. Behind her, the shadowkhan that had half formed, melted back into the shadows. All that remained were the two of them. Levitating ten feet off the ground, Jade shot forward hands outstretched in front of her. She screamed with rage, and from her hands, cyclones of darkness shot out to Valerie. With a scream, the blonde woman dove out of the way. The lamp post behind her was blown apart and corroded to almost nothing when the maelstrom hit it.

"Shit!" Valerie cursed when the skin on her arms was scrapped away from her roll across the pavement. She barely got to her knees when she had to dive again to avoid Jade's next strike. Holy hell! The girl was really giving it her all. "Why, _why_ does it have to be me?"

But this was what she wanted, wasn't it? This was her chance? Looking down at her left palm, Val had the agonising hesitation slip through her being once more. What if it wasn't enough? What if she was as useless at this as she was everything else? Only the echo of Shendu's whispered words seemed to settle her enough. Right before she had to jump aside to avoid Jade's next attack.

Spinning on her heel, Val turned to meet her opponent, and raised her left arm. Memories of the alternate reality floated to the forefront of her mind. Reach in, feel the flood, let the emotion be the force, and push it outwards. Her palm grew hot, and then green lightning shot out!

It hit Jade squarely in the chest, sending the girl shooting backwards. Like stuttering electricity, Val's lightning fizzled out when her concentration broke for just a split second. She couldn't help it, she panicked. Had that hurt Jade?! But a moment later, the girl recovered, seemingly winded, but whole. With a screech, she flung herself at Valerie again, darkness pouring out of her. In reflex Valerie threw her hand up and the green lightning erupted again. Much the same as Tarakudo's and Shendu's powers had done back in the Vault, the two forces met in the middle, spitting and swarming around one another.

Gritting her teeth, Valerie pushed harder, hoping she could not only withstand the fight, but achieve her goal without toasting her subject.

* * *

Hsi Wu carved the symbols in a circle all around him, in an old ancient dialect that seemed to be part ancient Chinese, but also a hybrid form of a tongue far older and powerful. The language of the earth was written about him on the single floating island he'd found away from the interference of his siblings. With the symbols commanding the attention of the elements to him, the Sky Demon took a moment to focus his mind, to centre his being, before he sat cross legged in the circle and clapped his hands three times.

The symbols locked. He could now not leave this hallowed space until the ritual was complete. The spell had begun. Reaching deep within, Hsi Wu summoned on his dark chi, the energy that flowed through his whole being, twisted and half formed as it was. It answered his call with great relish, swimming through his veins to bubble just beneath the surface of his skin. Closing his deep red eyes, the usual grin always present on the demon's face was absent with concentration. In his mind's eye, he called forth the image of his Other, of the young girl Jade, taking great care to perfectly recall every exact detail of her. The image had to be as life-like as he could manage, nothing could be left to chance.

Right arm held out in front of him, the claw on his left hand came to rest with a feather's touch above his right palm. There was a universal importance on the right and left side of things. The binding of Others, the ring of marriage, all ceremonies that connected two beings together as one, should be done on the left hand. It was something sacred, ancient and traditional. If the left was performed with all the purest intentions, then to do the same upon its mirror, caused the opposite of outcomes. The right hand was the hand of domination and action. This was not the way to do things, but Hsi Wu found he had little choices left available to him. Nothing and no one was going to prevent him from escaping this hellish place.

As his claw dug into his palm and he carved a diagonal line through the flesh, his voice hissed with the magic of chi infusing each word. "Through blood it is known, blood it is found. Through blood it is sown, blood it is bound. A piece of mine own flesh, mine own soul, to plant and rise in that which makes me whole."

His fingers plunged into the cut and pinched off a tiny piece of flesh. Plucking it out from his hand, he smothered it in his gathering blood and then held it up before his eyes. His focus centred on it, and slowly the claws came away to leave it suspended therebefore him. Not taking his eyes from it, the Sky Demon brought his cut hand to his mouth, and his long tongue lapped at the jagged line.

With his next words, black magic appeared in the air and swooped around the piece of meat, devouring it and crushing it to dust. "Stretch it, twist it, make it grow. Like a river, make it flow. Out of dark, straight to me. Open the door with this the key."

Suddenly everything went still. And then, the symbols all along the floor flashed bright, and a loud SNAP echoed through the air. Hsi Wu gasped as pain eclipsed his chest. He felt a piece of himself be sliced out of his very soul, he cried out as the sacrifice was accepted and taken by the universe. Another loud SNAP pounded his eardrums, and with it, the pain ceased. The piece of flesh had vanished, sent careening out through the ether on its paramount mission. He was left gasping, and in all felt a little… _less_ than he had before. He seemed diminished, halved, though in appearance he looked no different.

But it would be worth it, he told himself, over and over, he promised that salvation at last would be worth the price. Not even unlimited power was worth keeping when the promise of freedom was so close at hand. Smirking towards the distance, his eyes fixated on something very specific. "Hope you like the present, Jade."

* * *

Green lightning exploded against a swirling mass of dark shadow. Heat blistered through the air as a storm was harnessed on the very earth itself. Forking bolts of electricity snapped and crackled viciously, fighting for domination over the other. Valerie grit her teeth as she felt the sting of the heat against her hands and face. The magic that poured forth terrified her, but she kept pushing it outwards. The seemingly endless supply she dredged up from the depths of her soul also seemed to mystify her. She could sense more in the bottomless well ready to be summoned at a moment's notice. But she held back. It would be too much, she cautioned herself. She could do this without it.

"Why won't you just die already!" Jade screamed in frustration, sweat beading across her skin. The girl tried to push herself into the attack, knowing her power couldn't overcome Valerie's conventionally.

Valerie cut off the spell and ducked down just in time to avoid being hit. She hid underneath the slide, though she knew it made a poor excuse of a shield. Something ran out of her nose, and she was hardly surprised to find blood-spots on the back of her hand when she wiped it away. She needed to catch her breath. This fight needed to end, sooner rather than later. If Jade suddenly got smart and decided this fight could only be won if she called for help, Valerie was screwed. But how?

She looked down at her scar. The answer was exceedingly obvious, but the woman was loathe to use it. What would she become if she did? "Come on, Valerie… this time, this time for sure…"

Taking one deep breath, she braced herself and leapt out of cover, hand raised to–

As Jade whirled about to face her, something materialised out of the air behind her and hit her right between the shoulder blades. Instantly, the girl went rigid, back tensing, ramrod straight. And then a violent shake took hold of her, almost like she was suffering from an epileptic fit. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and her jaw went slack. The shaking seemed to intensify, before a loud SNAP rang through the air, and the girl dropped to the floor, limp and lifeless. Valerie instantly panicked and rushed over to the child's side. Kneeling, she hurriedly tried to check for a pulse, and almost collapsed with relief when she found one.

"Well… that, err… that's one way of doing it." She mumbled and looked over the young girl's body more thoroughly.

Jade appeared as if asleep, eyes closed and completely unresponsive. In all truth, Valerie thought something must've blown her fuses – had she used up too much power, maybe? In any case, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Running back to her car, Valerie snatched up her bag and hurried back to Jade. Fiddling inside, she found the needle full of sedatives she'd snatched from Section 13's medical bay. Finding a vein, she dosed up the young girl with the hope to keep her under and prevent any frightening resurrections before Valerie was ready for her.

Then came the job of lifting the girl up and carrying her over to her car without anyone noticing. Funny, upon arriving here, Valerie had been uncaring if anyone saw her, and therefore was quite certain that the number of witnesses were nil. However, when she was carrying the body of an unconscious child which she carefully placed in her trunk – it suddenly felt as if everyone in San Fran were just out of her line of sight, watching her.

Before she closed the trunk-lid, Valerie looked down upon Jade with pity. "I'm sorry, Jade. I just…" she winced, and slammed it shut. "Yeah, I'm sorry."

Beneath her feet, Valerie felt the ground tremble. It wasn't enough to cause damage, but the force was strong enough to make several car alarms fire off down the street. An almost unnoticeable tingle raced along the scar on the woman's hand. After a moment or so, the tremor stopped. Another one? Val had almost thought these quakes were over with. Edging closer to the driver's-side door, she hoped no other such hiccups would occur tonight.

* * *

Jade's body was laid out in the middle of Section 13's vault. All the Oni masks Jackie and the others had managed to safeguard hanging on the walls on either side of Shendu's statue. Valerie knelt over the girl, one of the books from Uncle's store laid open just off to the side where she could tilt her head to re-read the same passage for the hundredth time. Hanging from her fingers was a chain made of silver, and upon the end was a talisman that resembled what looked like a dragon's eye. Shendu had given it to her by melting it out of his own stone flesh.

Valerie cast one last look at the book, making sure she had all the steps memorised. Nerves bubbled in her stomach. She bit her bottom lip. Turning back to Jade, she dangled the chain over the top of the girl's face. Eyes closed, Valerie attempted to find a semblance of peace in her mind's eye. Worries gnawed at her, and her leg shook from a trapped nerve. She growled in frustration!

"Centre your mind," came Shendu's quiet voice behind her. "Focus only on her, and speak."

She took one deep breath. Then two. Then three. Doing as she was bid, the woman focused her entire mind on Jade, on picturing the little happy-go-lucky, adventure loving, daredevil girl she used to be. Finally her turmoil began to settle. Another deep breath. Her eyes opened only a crack so she could see Jade's closed eyelids from under her lashes.

"Jade, if you can hear me, we need you." Her voice was low, monotone, forcefully produced in her chest so that she could feel it vibrate. The chain began to swing back and forth, its shadow swaying from left to right across the sleeping child's eyes. A hush fell over the room, the very specks of dust on the ceiling seeming to hold still and pay attention. "Wherever you are in there, hear me, listen to my voice. Tarakudo has a mask, a mask we can use to banish all the others. I need you to tell me how to get it. Please. It's the only way we can stop all this… the only way we can free you… Come back to us, Jade."

No response. Jade lay as still and cold to the world as she had been a few minutes ago. Valerie frowned and checked back at the book. No, that was definitely how to do it… she'd done everything right. Perhaps hypnotism didn't work on the possessed? But Shendu had seemed to think it would… She slumped, disappointed. But she still had one trick up her sleeve. One last spell to cast.

Another book was called upon, the page known off by heart and easily retrieved. Eyes cast back and forth, reading in the text. Piece of chalk in hand, Valerie drew a circle around Jade on the floor. At the four compass points, she wrote the Japanese characters for the elements. Between each character, she placed a candle, unlit. With a permanent-marker pen, she wrote on Jade's forehead a character similar to the one Uncle had once drawn on Valmot's head.

Finally, she turned back to Shendu, a blank sheet of paper in hand. "Okay, and I just write the words on the paper?"

"Yes," he said solemnly. Valerie hurriedly knelt down and began to scribble out her pre-prepared translations. "You have looked up the Japanese translations, correct? Tarakudo is of Japanese descent. A spirit can only be banished by his mother-tongue."

"Yes, I know. I did it. I think… are these correct?" she tried to show him her rough translations.

"Valerie, you're stalling."

"I can't help it! I'm nervous! Uncle never got to show me how an exorcism spell works. Before he could, you were already galivanting off with Valmont's body."

"Dragons don't galivant." Shendu muttered. "You need to remain calm."

At that, she threw him a murderous look. "I've had less than two hours sleep in the last twenty-four, I've got Jade unconscious on the floor, I've been abandoned by my friends, and to top it off, I'm about to execute a plan I'm currently half-sure is suicide. Trust me, this is about as calm as it gets in those circumstances."

Strangely, despite her snappy behaviour, his voice remained calm and soothing. "Your fears will become a self-fulfilling prophecy if you give in to them."

"So what would you suggest?"

"Come closer." She gave him a look, and by the subtle dim of the glow in his gaze, it was like he'd rolled his eyes at her. "Trust me, my Valerie." Maybe she was more tired than she thought, because something warm raced through her veins when he said that. So, despite everything, she found herself obeying. She took a step and a half towards him. "Come closer and close your eyes."

Though she might've felt a little unsure, she did as instructed. Standing right in front of the statue, she kept herself perfectly still and closed her eyes. Could he hear her heartbeat? Feel the blush in her cheeks? Why did she feel the tingle of anticipation in her stomach? From the abyss behind her eyes, his voice came sultry and sensual around her ears, until he was all she could hear, was all she could think in her mind.

"Hear my voice in the dark. Listen not to my words, but my tone. Reach in, and feel every cell in your body. Look for that burning fire I know to be there. Touch it. Embrace it. Surrender to it."

Damn it, she must be unguarded because his hypnotic words seemed to be… working? With the warmth of his breath against her neck, tickling her hair, she could feel her essence balloon out from her centre, reaching through to her fingertips and her toes. It was like she could feel every heartbeat, every flow of blood in her body. It filled her with a momentary warmth. And surprisingly, she thought she felt some of the weariness melt away. With him guiding her, she felt like she could relax.

"Yes, Valerie…" he whispered. "That's it. Let it all fall away. You and I are the only things that exist in this world now. That's all that matters. Breathe. Feel the life push through your veins, that glow trapped beneath your breast. Let it wash over you."

Heat prickled along her navel and swam downward… Dare she think it, but… the way he huskily uttered those words, as if his mouth was right by her ear… She shouldn't be entertaining this. Hopefully he couldn't see the blush she could feel creeping across her throat. And yet, damn it, why should she be embarrassed? It meant nothing. It was just something to make her feel better. Shendu was trying to make her feel better. And she couldn't help it if the way he talked to her, if his voice, was making her feel…

"We got it!"

Valerie shrieked, startled. Eyes popping open, she whirled around. Nat stood in the doorway, arms crossed and giving Valerie a look. Drago came strutting in behind her, a smirk on his face. He tossed the oni-mask in his hand, flipping it expertly. The pair of them came waltzing into the vault. As Drago passed Jade laid out on the floor, he nudged her with a toe, a disgusted sneer on his face. Nat thumped his shoulder to get him to pack it in. Valerie was left horrified to wonder how long they'd been standing there.

"Oh, erm, great-good!" she stuttered, feeling her face grow hotter by the second. "We can start then."

Desperately hoping neither of them noticed her distraction attempts or how jumpy she suddenly was, Valerie hurriedly prepared the trap. She handed out a couple of Talismans between herself and Nat. Mainly, she kept the Dog and Horse Talismans so that she would be invulnerable and remain uninterrupted during the exorcism. Stepping within the chalk circle, translations and silver chain held in one hand, Val centred herself with a breath when she held up a lighter in the other. Looking to the north, she lit the first candle. Turning clockwise around the circle she lit each of the other candles in turn. When the last candle was lit and the circle complete, the flames suddenly burned brighter.

"Drago," Valerie said as she knelt over Jade. "Be ready to drop the protection spell."

The demon nodded, and held up a hand to the air, as if ready to shred an invisible enemy in front of him. He looked to Nat, and she nodded, twirling her sword. He growled, "Moment of truth."

Shifting the silver chain to her other hand, Valerie once again dangled it over Jade's forehead. Swaying it in a slow rhythm, Valerie brought the piece of paper before her eyes and began to mutter the words written there under her breath. Each word she memorised, repeating it in an endless chant, each syllable having a beat like music. She could feel the chain start to become heavy, wanting to pull down out of her grasp to reach Jade's flesh. But she held it firm. Around her, the candles began to glow brighter, hotter, the wax bubbling out from the top to pool along the floor. It swam along the chalk lines until it formed a solid ring. There was an audible CRACK as the wax solidified instantaneously upon unifying.

"Now, Drago." Said Shendu.

Summoning his own dark magic, the half-demon felt for the bonds of electricity that made up the fabric of the world. Being on the inside of the vault made him able to tear down its wards far easier. He merely looked for the repellent that would drive away those who belonged to the Shadow realm. It was so distinctive, unlike the light and dark chi magics that made up the world, the touch of the shadow realm belonged far outside of nature. With one sweep of his claws through the air, Drago shattered the protection spell, leaving the vault as vulnerable as a calf in the open.

Valerie wasn't allowed to break her own concentration, no matter how frightened her racing heartbeat grew. Tarakudo could be upon them at any moment. He would undoubtedly bring all his forces to bear down on them. But she couldn't break away. The spell was progressing, she could feel it tingle along her scar. The words fully memorised, Valerie began to chant them louder. With a forceful push, she slapped the piece of paper against Jade's chest, words down. The body lurched upwards, as if pulled by string. Valerie kept chanting, even if she could feel prickling heat sting her flesh.

At every corner of the room, shadows began to twist and turn and then grow tangible. From the floor arose Tarakudo first, followed by those unlucky mortals he had possessed with his Oni-Masks, including the Ice Crew. The Oni King was peeved, if the scowl on his face and the general aura of fury he emitted was any indication. He looked upon the vault and saw the exorcism behind where Drago and Nat stood at the ready.

"Well, well, well, Shendu," murmured Tarakudo. "Crafty as ever, I see. But this is the end of the line. I brought the cavalry this time."

Shendu cackled to himself. "Ah, you seem to have forgotten, Tarakudo, just how crafty I can be. I brought a cavalry of my own."

And from either side of him, Shendu summoned to being the original Shadowkhan that the heroes had always known. Behind them came the other variations from the two or three masks Jackie had managed to steal. More experienced than a mortal, the Demon-Sorcerer called forth a legion of the shadow warriors who stood ready to face their king. Tarakudo roared in rage and focused his lethal power upon his own warriors. However, seeing as how the masks were not worn by a living being, Tarakudo could not corrupt them to do his bidding. With a triumphant cackle, Shendu ordered his legion forward and the fight began.

Nat and Drago charged forward with the shadow warriors. Fire and blade met against the strength of the Oni-Generals that came to try and tear them apart. Gifted with strength and knowledge of combat their mortal bodies should not possess, they put up a good fight. Drago took extreme pleasure in using deadly force in an attempt to hurt and incapacitate the Oni-generals in any way. Nat wasn't as accustomed to fighting so many well-trained opponents at once. However, her sword granted her an advantage. It's anti-demon-magic capabilities were universal and hurt those generals that it touched to the point where they tried to keep out of range of her sword swing. Shendu directed his khan to intercept all the shadowkhan Tarakudo sent their way, keeping a small token force around the exorcism circle to guard it.

Tarakudo was the force they had to reckon with. Shendu attempted to keep him distracted with magical blasts (or as much as his stone prison would allow) and Drago and Nat tried to step in his way. It was all in an effort to stop him from reaching Val and Jade. However, seeing them coming, Tarakudo easily knocked aside Drago and Nat before their attacks could touch him. Drago growled under his breath as the floating head swept by him. Punching a general on the top of his head, he was suddenly struck with inspiration.

"Hey Red! I got an idea," he called out to Nat. From across the battle, she glanced at him over her shoulder, blade held horizontal to hold off a blade-khan. Having gotten her attention, Drago crouched, locking his hands together with palms up, and grinned. "You ever done cheerleading?"

It took her a second to comprehend his meaning. Smirking, she kicked her opponent back and slashed it into dust. Spinning on her heel, she sprinted towards Drago and lifted a boot to drive it into his hands. With a snarl, Drago threw the human woman upwards at the same moment she used him as a springboard to jump. Nat flew into the air, so high the tips of her hair brushed the ceiling. She flipped head over heels and came down bracing against the hilt of her sword. Tarakudo didn't look up until the last moment. With a cry, Nat drove her sword into the top of his bald head. Roaring at the pain her blade caused him, Tarakudo tried to charge backwards to drive her off, but the redhead held on like a cowboy at a rodeo. With one final roar, Tarakudo melted his form into the floor and disappeared. Nat hopped back to the ground, shaky, but unharmed.

Drago was at her side and managed to block an incoming attack whilst she came back to her senses. She grinned at him. "Wow, that actually worked pretty well."

The look he sent her was devious. "And I got a nice view of your ass."

"Asshole!" she scowled.

Across the room, Valerie was struggling to keep up the spell. The words were thick on her tongue, the heat on the paper felt so real she thought there were blisters forming on her knuckles, and the spell drained on her until she thought she'd collapse. But still she would not break, over and over she said the words. In her mind's eye, she pictured Jade covered in vines, and each word of the spell she spoke was like a pair of shears that cut away at the vines piece by piece to set her free. Yet as she tried to cut her free completely, something came to her attention. Amidst the vines there was something akin to weeds intercepting the vines, growing with them around Jade's form, and no matter how hard she cut, they would not break.

 _"_ _Shendu! I can't!"_ she said in her mind, not daring to break the mantra she spoke.

His reply was instant. _"Yes, you can."_

 _"_ _But there's something else – there's interference! It's not letting her go."_

 _"_ _Use it like a river. Go with it's current, not against it. And at the last moment, wrench it to the side, not back against the flow."_ Despite how bone weary she felt, his voice offered her strength. _"You're almost there Valerie. Be ready to finish this."_

Forming through the cracks in the tiles, Tarakudo appeared into being once more right beside the exorcism circle. His green eyes flashed with rage as he glared down upon the mortal woman. Something frantic was in his expression. He must know the spell was near completion, and the thought frightened him enough to anger.

"No!" he snarled. "I'll see you die first, demon's whore!"

Tarakudo scrunched up his face in the way he always did before he used his telekinetic powers. The candles surrounding Valerie wobbled and threatened to topple. The disruption caused a flare of pain in the young woman as the magic threatened to fireback at her. And then suddenly it ceased, as a familiar presence enveloped her like a bubble. Shendu's voice came, cold and sinister. "You'll not touch her."

A blur, and Nat had used the rabbit to dart in front of Tarakudo. Her eyes grew bright and then a flash of heat-beams struck the Oni-King hard enough to send him in retreat. Valerie concentrated back on the spell, desperate now to get it finished. She imagined the vines almost completely cut away, and though the weeds seemed to want to strangle the last of the vines, they were simultaneously dragging Jade into the ground with them. Valerie pushed Jade with them, pushed her all the way through so that the girl did a loop and came straight back up. Before she thought the weeds could get their hold back on Jade, Valerie pressed the dragon–eye pendant to the girl's forehead. In the real world, Jade jolted up, eyes snapping wide open, mouth agape and gasping for air. Twisting in place, Val snatched up the permanent marker pen and slashed a line through the Tarakudo tattoo branded on Jade's leg.

A sound of shattered glass filled Valerie's ears, and with a puff of smoke, the blue skin and dark clothes began to fall away from Jade like flakes of ash. In their place was left the same little girl as before, orange hoody and all. Valerie could've wept tears of joy to see her, and that the tattoo had melted away into nothing. Across the room, Tarakudo gave a sudden shriek as the magic he'd poured into Jade was broken. It left the Oni-King unbalanced with the sudden loss, and he staggered.

This was the moment they'd been waiting for! Nat, Drago and Shendu all renewed their efforts against the Oni, driving at him with sword, fire and magic from all sides. Tarakudo took their beating, always on the retreat and –

The ground gave a sudden roar as the foundations of Section 13 shook. Like a massive titan was rolling in its sleep, it churned up the world above it and made everyone's teeth rattle. Valerie felt the scar on her palm sting, and Shendu hissed behind her. Across from them though, was a more intriguing sight. All around the room the Shadowkhan – both Tarakudo's and Shendu's – froze and began to melt away into dust. It was exactly like what had happened when Shendu had attempted to escape incarceration. All that remained was Tarakudo and his generals.

"What was that?" said the possessed face of Strikemaster Ice. "I can't summon my Khan!"

The Oni King growled low. "The Queen Bee is waking, it would seem. Magic not of this world is therefore banished in her presence…"

Valerie and the other youngsters all looked to each other, having absolutely no idea what that was supposed to mean. And their confusion was all the opportunity Tarakudo needed. He roared, and the telekinetic force he sent out was strong enough to propel Nat and Drago flying into the walls of the Vault. Before they could get up, the oni-generals were set upon them, beating them down.

Tarakudo advanced towards Valerie, his face contorted with his need for furious vengeance. With a tired whimper, Valerie cradled Jade close against her, scooting backwards until she was pressed against the wall. How could this be? They'd taken Jade from him, why hadn't he been at least dazed?! Tarakudo loomed over her, and Valerie knew she was staring into the face of death itself now…

" _Aiya_! Floating head want piece of Uncle?!"

The entire battle paused. Everyone turned to look at the door to the vault. There stood Uncle, smirk and all, twirling a puffer-fish in hand like a cowboy spinning his gun. Behind him, came Jackie and Tohru, holding pots filled with glowing green potions. They were muttering something in Japanese, Tohru leading the chant fluently whilst Jackie stumbled along. Spinning on his heel, Uncle plunged the head of the pufferfish into the pair of pots, and then targeted the dead fish's mouth straight at the floating head. A green blast erupted and smacked straight between Tarakudo's eyes. The Oni-King yelled as if in pain, as smoke appeared all around him, enveloping him from sight. Not a moment later, it was brushed aside and in Tarakudo's place, stood a hulking form. As tall as Tohru, muscled like a wrestler, stood a red Oni dressed in robes of black. It took Valerie a moment to recognise the white hair and ugly features, and realise that it was Tarakudo himself in the flesh.

"Spirit untouchable. Body? Very touchable." Uncle grinned.

Tarakudo snarled, dropping into a stance, ready to fight. "Fools. Now I simply have the means to destroy you myself!"

"No magic powers, Tarakudo?" Jackie taunted, "it's about time you fought fair."

Tarakudo leapt at Jackie, his fists driving into the ground that the human just barely managed to dodge. Thinking fast, Jackie chucked the now useless potion onto Tarakudo's back, the boiling heat making the demon hiss. He spun and kicked out with a leg, that Jackie shielded himself from with the now empty pot. Seeing that the fight was back on, the Oni-generals launhed themselves back into the fray. Nat and Drago and Tohru quickly intercepted them, muscle, flame, talismans and sword keeping them at bay. Amidst the chaos, Uncle wove through the battle until he finally reached Valerie's side. His wrinkled eyes skimmed over the leftovers of the exorcism ritual with interest, but he still knelt down to inspect his young niece.

"Uncle," Valerie whispered tiredly. "How did you know to–"

"Old ears are good for eavesdropping when shop-assistant thinks Uncle has left with brash nephew," he said with secret warmth. "Heard plan and decided to cook up body-spell."

A groan. Uncle and Val snapped their eyes down in time to see Jade stir from unconsciousness. The woman beamed down as the younger girl blinked open her eyes. Her skin was almost ashen where it was so pale, her eyes looked dull and lifeless, in truth, she looked _sick._ As if it took her a moment to recognise them, Jade frowned up at her friend and elder, before a tiny smile hinted at the edge of her exhausted mouth.

"Hey, guys…" she said in a hoarse voice. Her smile faded, and misery hinted in the corners of her eyes, the struggle to stay conscious evident as she tried to force herself to finish her sentence. "I'm sorry I couldn't… I just wanted to…"

"No, hey, Jade, it's alright. I know, kid. I know." Valerie soothed, stroking Jade's hair back out of her face.

"If it's any consolation… I heard you…" Val frowned, confused, until she felt something be pushed against her fingers. She gasped when she glanced down and realised that Jade held in her hand a mask – a perfect replica of Tarakudo's face. "Go get 'im, tiger…" and before she could say anything else, the girl slipped once more into unconsciousness.

Valerie looked up into the furious battle. The team was struggling to keep up. There was no way for them to win, and the Oni had infinite reserves of fortitude and stamina. The mortals didn't have that luxury, even Drago was starting to flag. And in the centre of it all was the red king himself. Shendu's voice slithered up beside Val's ear, and commanded fiercely: "Place the mask on his face and they shall all be dealt with!"

Gritting her teeth, Valerie handed the body of Jade to Uncle, and shouted out loudly: "Hey! Bobble-Head!" Tarakudo and Jackie paused mid-strike to look in her direction. Giving a very Shendu-like-smirk, Valerie held up the mask and called in a sing-song voice: "Look what I got…"

Bristling with alarm, Tarakudo immediately abandoned Jackie in favour of charging for her like a raging bull. His new long legs eating up the ground he was looming over in three strides, hands reached out for her throat. Whether to grab for the mask, or murder her, Valerie would never know. As he leapt for her, she pulled her arm back and slung the mask like a Frisbee underneath him. Too late did he see the intended target, as Jackie snatched hold of the mask. Tarakudo turned, too late to avoid the fate that pushed itself against his face as Jackie shouted: "This one's for Jade!"

Tarakudo roared as the mask enveloped his face. All the shadows of the room suddenly began to leech out of the walls, the floors, the ceiling. As if all the darkness of all the world was being pulled in by some invisible wind, it flew towards the Oni King, materialising as a swirling tornado being pulled into the eye-holes of his mask. The Oni-Generals around the room screeched, the masks being torn away from the flesh of their hosts and crumbling into dust to be sucked up towards their king as well. Boneless, the once-possessed humans slumped to the floor, pale and dazed. Working its way up from his feet, shadows encircled Tarakudo's form, curling around him and vaporising him into nothingness. Finally, it reached his face, and even though he screamed against it, he could not stop himself from being pulled into the mask with it. There was one more flash of blinding light, and then the mask fell to the ground with a loud hollow clatter… and all was finally quiet.

They'd done it.

Across the room, the Ice Crew woozily came around to wakefulness, rubbing their heads and groaning as if they had the world's worst migraine. "Yo dog… that was some nasty trip…"

Drago stepped up towards them, hiding the smile threatening to creep in at the corners of his mouth. "You three slackers gonna sit around all day? Or you wanna blow this dump before we land in a cell?"

"Hey, D-Man!" Cobra said as if high-as-a-kite on drugs. "Yeah, we good to go…"

The half-demon pulled his men to their feet, and the three clumsily raced for an open window that would lead to the streets above. With one last look back into the vault, and particularly to his mother, Drago sent her a nod of appreciation. Her proud smile and nod back seemed to spark something genuine in his eyes. Before he could leap up after his henchmen, however, Nat stepped up behind him. "Hey scales! Stay outta trouble this time."

He grinned over his shoulder at her. "No promises." And with that, he jumped through the window and was gone. Nat watched him leave, red strands of hair stirred to life by the wind created in his passing. Despite herself, she had to chuckle a little at his cocky attitude. It was rather invigorating… though mostly annoying, she tried to tell herself.

"Jade!" Jackie cried out and rushed over to Val and Uncle, who still held the small girl. Seeing her so lifeless, the man grew pale. "Is she…"

"She's fine," Valerie assured him softly. When he turned to look at her, she couldn't meet his eyes, rubbing her arm self-consciously as she remembered the way they'd left things before. To ease the nerves she felt, she tried to make light of the situation. "Probably gonna have a hell of a headache, but she'll be alright, I think."

"I…" words seemed to fail the archaeologist as he stood to his feet and came up in front of her. "Thank you, Valerie. I owe you a debt I don't think I can repay."

"You don't have to say the words, Jackie. I know I screwed up by picking sides. And I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I wanted you to know that. And that I'm okay if you're still mad with me about–"

"Valerie, I mean it. I'm sorry," He touched her chin, forcing her to look up at him and realise the words were genuine. "You only wanted to get Jade back, I know that. I shouldn't have said the things I did. I let my anger cloud my judgement. After all we've been through together, you'd think I'd learn to trust your word by now."

She looked away and whispered: "Sometimes I don't even trust myself…"

"Either way, I'm sorry." He stepped back and held out his hand to her in offer to shake. "Friends?"

Realising that this was real, the woman couldn't stop the beaming smile from spreading across her face, or the tears in her eyes. "Always!" she ignored his hand and launched herself at him, arms going around his shoulders and pulling him down into a fierce hug. Jackie was almost unbalanced for a second, before he corrected himself and hugged her back just as tightly. Valerie's eyes found Shendu's statue, silent throughout the victory celebration. By the glow of his eyes, she knew he was watching her. With a watery smile, she nodded gratitude to him over Jackie's shoulder.

"Besides, I know your game," her friend murmured. Valerie suddenly froze. Pulling her back, Jackie enthusiastically smiled down at her, and pointed his thumb in the direction that Drago had left. "What better way to catch a demon then in a trap of false security, am I right?"

* * *

 _Jade floated in darkness, at rest. Her spirit was so tired after so much torment at the onslaught of Tarakudo's influence. Now it was time to finally recuperate._

 _If only that were possible._

 _From deep within the darkness came a voice. Unlike in nightmares past, where the voice had seemed far-off and slightly unfocused, now it was close at hand and clear as a bell. Jade could feel it circling her like a vulture, could hear the familiar cackle. Her spine tingled, and in her fragile state, she didn't have the strength to hide her obvious fear._

 _The face that materialised out of the darkness was grinning down at her. "Here I am, Jade!"_


	14. Power's Seduction

**Author's Note: A huge thank you to InsanityisReality for being the most amazing BETA!**

 **Hope you all enjoy and please don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

Power's Seduction

 _Valerie walked along marble floors, her fingertips trailing along the smooth curve of a jade column. The flickering flame of a torch on the wall was the only light to guide her way, its brightness glittering off gold embedded in the walls. Though the illumination was minimum, she still managed to find her way, as if her body knew without telling her. A huge archway yawned above and swallowed her up. The only object she could make out in the room beyond was the huge bed with silver silk sheets that reflected the moonlight. She made her way towards it; the fabric was cool to the touch and slippery between her fingers. She sat on it and closed her eyes, allowing the pleasant sensations of peace to simply wash over her. How long had it been since she'd had proper rest, or rested enough that she wanted to dream? It was a nice reprieve._

 _She felt the mattress sink under a heavy weight beside her. A warm hand enclosed around hers without hesitation. Valerie's eyes flew open. She could just make out the hulking form of Shendu sat beside her. Clearly, she could see the glow of his red eyes, piercing and bright in the gloom. There was a moment of apprehension, but it melted away. She let him hold her hand._

 _"_ _Valerie," he whispered her name, like a sigh of relief to see her again. She remembered the last dream they'd shared, when he'd held her during the struggle. It was a secret to want it, something unspoken. But when he tugged on her hand, she did not resist and allowed him to pull her into his arms. He enclosed them around her, the warmth of his skin dispelling the cold gooseflesh she hadn't even known she had._

 _"_ _Thank you… for what you did," was the first thing she could think of to say. Even if it wasn't really him, she still felt like she needed to say it._

 _"_ _Permit me one thing," he leaned back, and cupped her face between his huge claws. "One little thing – a reward… Allow me one kiss."_

 _Her mind must know him so well that she couldn't even dream of him being chivalrous and simply holding her with the purest intentions. No, even her dreams knew he always had something he wanted, some angle he was working towards. It almost disappointed her. And yet, as his words echoed around the dream, his voice slipped into her mind in a similar way it had when they'd been alone in the vault. It soothed and stirred her into being, it warmed something deep inside with its silky tones. And this was a dream. No one would know what happened here._

 _So, when he slowly leaned in close, when his breath washed over her face, she did not move away. The curiosity was piqued, and his voice still slithered inside her head. She didn't care if his fangs glinted in the light, or that his green scales were just about visible when he was this close. His lips descended on hers, slow and gentle. He pressed them to hers, and Valerie could've sworn she felt a mild electrical shock spark between them. His hand slipped around to cup the back of her neck, tilting her head as he sank his claws into her hair. Valerie let him lead, merely closing her eyes and living in the moment, responding to each sensation as it came to her. His kiss was warm soothing with just a hint of something far wilder hidden beneath the surface. She felt something wet flick against her top lip, and she gasped inaudibly. Shendu seized the moment and plunged his tongue into her mouth. His taste was like woodsmoke, and his tongue expertly danced with hers as she rose to meet him. The sharp edge of his fang rubbed against her lip, adding a tiny thrill to her veins. He delighted and teased her, and she moaned as this secret came spilling out of her bubbling to the surface until she couldn't possibly hold back the truth of it any –_

 _BEEP-BEEP!_

Valerie jolted awake as her alarm blared right beside her ear. She looked all around, disorientated, heart hammering. It took her a moment or two to recognise her own room, her own bed. A sheen of sweat covered her brow and back, the sheets were tangled between her legs as if she'd just suffered a terrible nightmare. As she began to calm, Valerie sank back into the mattress, slamming her hand on the damned alarm clock to get it to shut up.

Staring at the ceiling, she laid there, mind spinning. Whatever line had been drawn in the sand before, that last dream had completely smashed right through it. It was like a barrier that shouldn't have been crossed. She tried to put the genie back in the bottle, cursing her traitorous brain for conjuring such a wrong dream! But it was no use, the memory – even if it'd only been a dream – lingered, of what it had been like to kiss him. Her fingertips trailed along her bottom lip, swollen from where she'd bitten it in the night. Despite all logic, there was no feeling of wrongness in her. Instead… the more she thought about the dream, the more it invoked feelings of _want_ inside her that refused to be ignored. How long had it been since she'd been kissed like that? How starved was she, just to be touched, that even now she wanted to go back to sleep, to slip right back into the dream…

She threw off the covers and thrust herself into the day ahead. She needed a distraction, to forget the entire thing ever happened. Unfortunately, she had little to choose from. After everything had happened with the Shadowkhan a week ago, the Chans and Tohru had decided it was time for them to go on vacation. It was Jackie's idea, as a way to help Jade recover from the trauma she'd been through, the girl had seemed tired, strung out since she'd woken up. So, the family had taken a trip to China, first to visit Jade's parents, and then to see Uncle's hometown. They'd left Valerie in charge of the store, but it didn't need that much management (seeing as they never got a customer). They weren't due to come back until tomorrow night. Valerie wondered if it would be a good idea to organise a big meal for them for when they walked through the door… yes, that could work. Help take her mind off _things_.

In the meantime, she might as well continue to practise on her chi-abilities. Uncle had left instruction on how to do this with as minimum risk as possible. Since being forced to use it more in recent events, Valerie argued with herself that she should learn its full capabilities. After all, if she'd been as powerful as Shendu had always promised, then maybe she could've stopped Tarakudo before he became too dangerous.

Nat was sprawled across Val's sofa, reading a magazine and trying her hardest to look like she wasn't subtly spying on Valerie across the room. Just like when Nat had previously stayed in San-Fran, she was crashing with Val for a place to stay. The blonde was sat on the floor, a paper cup on the coffee table. She held out her left hand towards it and attempted to summon to life that coiling serpent that lurked inside her spirit. The broiling energy that lay within, the key that opened the door to a lightning storm was within her grasp. Valerie had been hysterical with emotion when it had burst out of her before – that much she could discern for herself – but she wanted to see if she could snap it on with only a thought, like how Shendu did.

"Maybe you should say: _wingardium leviosa_ ," Nat commented, her eyes darting back to her magazine when Val glanced up and trying to look uninterested.

Valerie resisted the urge to stick her tongue out. "Careful. Or I might just slip out a: _Petrificus Totalus_."

Nat frowned. "What one's that?"

"Body-binding curse that also shuts you up. Would give me some peace and quiet to concentrate."

The red-head glowered and stuck her nose back in her magazine. Val hid her amused smile, but didn't quite understand why she suddenly felt so put out. She tried to shake it off, to get her zen-mode back. But Nat couldn't go a full minute without putting in her opinion.

"I don't know why you need to do this," she grumbled.

"I'm tired of being the useless one," Valerie admitted in a quiet voice. "Imagine what I could do to help if I could control this."

"That's assuming you _can_. And you shouldn't need to resort to this kind of thing. You don't know what you're messing with."

Valerie tried to smother the sting she felt. "Being the other-half of a demon sorcerer, I think I should know enough."

"Isn't that justification enough for you to not play with this?" Nat shot her a withering glare.

That was it. Valerie shot to her feet, suddenly upset and angry and defensive all at once. "Alright, what is your problem, Nataline? You got something to say, then just say it!"

Throwing away the pretence of reading, the demon-slayer threw her magazine on the coffee table, knocking over the paper-cup in the process. She stood as well, hands on her hips in an uncanny impression of Val's mother whenever she was angry and preparing to scold her daughter. "My problem? _This."_ She gestured vaguely at Val's left hand. "All of this. The demon magic we're all too happy to play around with."

"Not too long ago, you were fighting alongside a demon, now you want nothing to do with any of them again?"

"Demon-stuff should stick to demons. People should stick with people-stuff. You don't mix the two, Valerie, that'll end in disaster."

The blonde scoffed. "Like what? I accidentally singe my fingers?"

"Damn it, Val! This is not a joke!" Nat burst. "You take my advice: whatever this demon-magic is, lock it up somewhere inside you and throw away the key."

"You don't think I didn't try that at first?"

"Obviously not hard enough – because you're trying to use it willy-nilly now!" she began to pace, combat boots trampling the carpet. "This kind of thing sucks you in, Val. It's a temptation. First, it's to give you an edge, or just to help out. Then you start using it a little more and a little more, because you don't see the consequences at first. And then one day, you not only don't see the consequences – you don't care! This is the seduction of darkness. I mean, look at the mess we just got out of because of Jade!"

"Jade is a little girl, and I am a twenty-four-year-old woman!" Valerie shot back. "I'd like to think I have enough of a maturity level to think these things through."

"No one is invulnerable. If you ask me, your _hubby_ is rubbing off on you."

Val's spine shot straight and her expression became thunderous. Her mind flashed to the dream, and she hurriedly tried to cover up the traitorous thought with what used to be a knee-jerk reaction. "You take that back!"

"Then stop this!"

"Or what?" Valerie sneered. "What will you do? Kill me?!"

Nat was so shocked by the outburst she had to take a step backwards. She blinked at Valerie, almost wounded, as if she couldn't understand how she could ask such a question.

But she was too upset to take notice. "I'm not an idiot, Nat. I know exactly how power can corrupt people. But you know what? Back in the alternate reality, Shendu showed me that there is good _and_ bad in everyone."

Regaining her composure, Nat snorted. "Doesn't apply to demons. Hint is in the title."

"But maybe that's not _completely_ true–"

"It is."

Valerie's anger threatened to explode, and she felt her left palm begin to tingle with the promise of lightning. "Fine!" she whirled around and snatched up Nat's sword that had been leant against the wall, holding it by the blade out to the slayer. "If you're _so sure_ , then seeing as I'm technically part-demon now, just go ahead and get it over with!"

Nataline looked horrified. "Don't be ridiculous!"

She went to snatch it away, and in the flash of movement, the sharp edge of the blade sliced through Valerie's skin. A flash of heat bloomed from the cut, and Valerie yelled. She clutched her hand, expecting to see a huge gash – the pain was so intense! But when she looked down, it had barely scratched her. So why did it hurt so much? Why did Valerie feel like her hand was on fire? Nat saw what had happened and tried to see. But Val pulled away and stormed towards the kitchen, cursing under her breath. She ran the cut under the tap, and felt a little relief.

"I don't kill my friends…" Nat mumbled in a wobbly voice, having not moved to follow Val.

The blonde rolled her eyes. "You ever stop to think that maybe violence isn't always the answer?"

"It's all I know,"

"Then learn a new way," she shot over her shoulder unsympathetically. "Maybe next time, think about how it might be better to turn someone good rather than kill someone evil. Jackie always said the greatest victory is the battle not fought."

Nat said nothing. With one final wash of her hand, Val shook off the water droplets and stormed back into the living room. Still fuming, she snatched up her coat and shoes and marched towards the door. "Never mind, I'm going out."

She left Nat standing there, all alone and confused. The demon-slayer had no idea what to do. Should she go after her friend or not? Those words kept repeating in her mind, the human blood on her blade glared up at her. Her mind jumped to thoughts of Drago. What if he were no longer evil? Was there good in him – he was half human after all. Imagine what he could do if he were no longer evil? Seeing as the uneasy truce between him and the Chans was technically still in effect… Was it possible?

* * *

Jade felt like her skin was too tight for her.

She'd tried to ignore it. She didn't get sick very often. But there was this weird feeling, as if her insides were too big for her body. Her blood felt thick and heavy, and her heartbeat couldn't calm down. There was this energy inside her she couldn't expend, like she'd eaten waaaaaaaay too much sugar. Though she'd tried to put it off, she eventually went to her father, a doctor, and had him look her over. He said that there was physically nothing wrong with her – in fact she was in perfect health. He said it might be due to stress, that maybe American schoolwork was putting too much pressure on her. Jade had sunk that ship before it even began to float; no way would she let her parents make her leave America, leave Jackie!

So she pretended to be fine. Pretended to not feel like she wanted to claw her own skin off because it felt too constricted. Pretended to not feel guilty whenever she looked at Jackie or Uncle or Tohru, and wonder how many awful things she'd put them through. And most definitely pretended NOT to be suffering from nightmares each and every time she closed her eyes.

It worked for a little while. All throughout their stay with her parents and then the mini-adventure they had searching for Uncle's old hometown, she managed to keep it together. She was a little quieter than she usually was, a little more reserved. Even Jackie started to notice. But for the most part, she managed to act completely normal. The only thing that she could really complain about were the nightmares. Dreams of Hsi Wu, of his voice, of his horrid grin, taunting her and saying horrible things. It was getting to the point where she wanted to avoid sleep altogether.

But now they were on the plane home. That feeling of tightness was getting a little worse, but Jade tried to ignore it. It felt like a constant electrical shock was zapping through her fingers. Realising she still had a few hours to kill, Jade tried to settle for sleep.

 _Oooooh Jade!_

The girl sat bolt upright, eyes wide. She tried to slow her heart. The burst of fear made something want to explode out of her like a reflex. She shook her head. Wow, sleep must be really getting to her if she could slip into nightmares that quickly.

 _Who says this is a nightmare?_

Jade's blood ran cold. No. No, no, no, no, _no!_ This wasn't happening. She was NOT crazy. She was NOT hearing voices in her head! Especially not _his_ voice! It had to just be a trick, she wasn't sleeping enough, or something! Fingers digging into her temples, she tried to massage out the headache she could feel coming on.

 _I told you the universe would push you to me. Now I'm_ _ **inside**_ _you. And there's no way to get me out._

Her entire body began to tremble so hard she thought she'd throw up. Her ears popped. Her skin grew pale. She had to tell someone. She should reach over and tell Jackie right now. NO! She'd just gotten out of trouble because of Tarakudo, what would he think of her if he found out she was possessed by another bad guy? And a bad guy who happened to be a demon and who was apparently her Other…

An idea popped to life: she needed to talk to Valerie.

* * *

 _God damnit, Nat!_ Valerie thought to herself with a hiss.

She'd attempted to shake off the demon-slayer's words. She'd tried to distract herself with going to the mall, and then a bookstore, but nothing worked. She kept thinking over and over again what the redhead had told her. Was it true? Was this power slowly corrupting her? Would it turn her evil? Her mind flashed to the future-Jade, the one who had been made cold and bitter, apparently from Valerie's future betrayal. Was Valerie doomed to fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy? Was she going to turn on her friends to release Shendu and birth his half-demon spawn?

A pang of guilt stabbed at her stomach for thinking of Drago like that. After everything he'd done helping with the Shadowkhan, she shouldn't think of him that way. Since the moment she spoke to him, she'd been unable to deny the connection she felt to her future-son. And Drago obviously felt something for her, otherwise he wouldn't worry over her as much as he did. But the sad thing was, Valerie recognised he might be as doomed as she was. What if her corruption meant he was also bad right from the start? She wanted to believe that there was good in him, he had half of her in him, surely there must be something redeemable for her to salvage! Possibly, with this uneasy truce until the next demon-chi awoke, she might be able to find him again, might be able to convince him to the right side of the moral compass.

But what if Valerie could save him, save herself, save all her friends from their bitter future, if she didn't have this power? Yes, she still believed that it might be able to help her and her friends; but if getting rid of it served a greater purpose? She'd take that road without hesitation.

Before her mind could think further on the matter, she was already making her way towards Section 13. None of the agents or guards made any move to question her as she made her way through the base. She was known by all of them, deemed safe and unthreatening. Would it be this easy for a corrupted-her to break Shendu out of prison? She didn't want to think about that.

Jade had rubbed off on her a little too much, for all it took was a little patience for her to sneak her way into the Vault when the guards were on rotation and the security cameras were sweeping in the opposite direction. The blonde wondered whether to remind Captain Black in the future to upgrade these systems – they seemed to get worse every year. The vault was cool, the air stinging the back of her throat with the bite of artificialness. Half way across the vault, she stopped at the rack containing the Talismans. The cut on her palm from Nat's sword hadn't scabbed over, even though it had been a couple of hours, but at least the pain was less. On a whim, she picked up the Horse Talisman, and held it in her cut palm. The warmth she felt probing at her core from the talisman's power reached out to her, and she willed it to close the wound. However, it felt as if the talisman couldn't _touch_ the area, as if it were being blocked.

And then Valerie felt like an idiot. _Anti-demon-magic, remember?_ She scolded herself. Apparently, that applied to demon-made talismans also. She put the talisman back. Guess it would need to heal the old fashioned way.

"Something troubling you?" came Shendu's voice. Val startled, having completely forgotten he was there.

"I-It's nothing," She willed the blush in her cheeks to go down, and stepped towards him. "I… Um, I didn't say thank you. You know, for all your help against Tarakudo." Damn it, now she couldn't get her dream out of her head again!

"There is nothing more to say,"

Val frowned, _nothing more…?_ "Anyway, I… I came here because I wanted to ask you something. You see, I've been trying to learn how to cast magic. It seems this scar has granted some _odd_ abilities."

"I did tell you so, in the other reality," he said. "But there's no need for explanations. I already know. I can feel it when you call on our connection to power your magic."

"You know? You've not said anything."

"You never asked. But you are now."

The smug amusement in his voice had her temper flare enough for her to snap out: "I want to know how to remove it."

Stunned silence. And then, a choked, almost offended whisper. " _What_?"

"This," Valerie held up her scarred hand. "Whatever connects me to you, I want to know if we can undo it. Cut it. Divorce ourselves."

"You can't." he snapped defensively. "Valerie, our chi's are linked now, as they have always wanted to, as they were _made_ to. Now that we have combined our spirits together, nothing can undo it. Ever."

"B-but…" Valerie felt a sense of loss for a dreadful moment. How dare she feel _relieved,_ even ever-so-slightly! "There must be some way. I cannot do this – cannot let it change me!"

"Change you?"

"This power… what if it steals away who I am, turns me into someone I don't want to be. Absolute power corrupts absolutely…"

"Valerie," Shendu called out softly, until her eyes were drawn up to meet his. "It is true, you now have access to all of my power, if you so wish it. But that does not mean you are immediately susceptible to instant evilness."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because whilst I think you would be a lot more fun if you indulged in a darker side, I do not think I could tolerate it for an extended period of time. I adore the woman that you are. Brazen and aggravatingly stubborn, sentimental and foolishly good-hearted, vindictive and fiery tempered. And besides, your devotion to your father would never allow it."

She blinked, stunned into silence. Her heartbeat sped up in her breast, and butterflies gathered in her stomach. The corners of her lips wanted to twitch upwards in a smile, no matter how she tried to bite it down. Her fingers fiddled with the ends of her hair. "You think you know me so well…"

"Do you not know me?"

"Let's see: arrogant and nauseatingly smug, domineering and deceptively charming, lecherous and obliviously frustrating," this time she couldn't hold back her smirk as she did her best impersonation of his own voice.

"You forgot stonily handsome."

A snorting chuckle burst out of her, so sudden she had to clap a hand over her mouth.

"If it truly bothers you," Shendu continued in a softer voice. "I could teach you. The old man doesn't know enough to truly instruct you, and his text books could never hold the right knowledge to guide you."

"You'd do that?"

"If it meant I could talk with you more, than yes."

No hesitance in his smooth reply. Once more, Valerie felt her cheeks grow warm and her blood race a little faster. In all honesty she was touched. And with it, an urge was summoned back to life within her. She wanted to touch him, to show her appreciation for his comfort. Though she shouldn't, her body was impulsive and a traitor to her own moral sense. Cautiously, her hand reached up towards his stone face. Since when had she shown no fear for that frozen stony snarl with fangs bared and every horn and spike carved with exquisite detail? Since when did she resent that stone encasement because it meant she couldn't feel the reassuring warmth she'd felt in her dream? Her hand reached out and brushed along his cheek.

And she noticed the smear of blood she left behind from the cut on her hand.

There was a deafening _BOOM_ and an explosion of light and air that threw Valerie to the ground. She cried out, frightened. Blinking her eyes, she tried to clear away the effects that had temporarily blinded her. When her ears stopped ringing, she was aware of an alarm blaring above her head, and when her sight slowly returned she noticed the red circling light of the sirens. Footsteps clobbered outside and shouting echoed closer and closer.

A deep reptilian rumble came like thunder right above Valerie. She spun onto her back and stared up in shock and horror. Looming over her in all his bronze and green glory, was Shendu, inspecting his arms as if astonished to see them again. His red gaze caught hers, and Valerie trembled at the smile she saw in them.


	15. Bigger Fish To Fry

Bigger Fish To Fry

Valerie lay there shaking all over, unable to function from shock. Shendu merely stared down at her, his eyes shimmering.

Suddenly the door to the vault burst open, and in poured a dozen agents. Captain Black was at their lead, already hoisting a huge shotgun aimed for Shendu's head. The agents immediately blocked the way between the demon-sorcerer and his precious Talismans, but Shendu made no move to do anything. He merely glanced in either direction, growling under his breath with the promise of fire. Valerie attempted to crawl out of the way, sure that chaos was about to erupt. It was only then that Captain Black noticed her.

His eyes widened and he immediately ran towards her. "Valerie!"

She reached for him. "Captain B–"

Iron talons wrapped around her torso and scooped her up into the air. She cried out, frightened by the sudden shift of view. Shendu roared and threw out his free arm. Valerie felt a pull on her core, like a fish hook yanking on her gut. Then, a second flash and clap of thunder filled the vault.

When Captain Black and the other agents finally unshielded their eyes from the onslaught, they stared in amazement at the empty room around them. No statue on the wall. No fifteen-foot-tall dragon. And no damsel in distress. Shendu and Valerie had vanished. Captain Black immediately whipped around and began to shout his orders in urgency. "All Agents prepare to load out for search parties! I want that lizard found! Put the entire base on high alert – and somebody get me on the phone to the Chans!"

* * *

The first thing Valerie was aware of was the pop inside her ears a split second before the world flashed with light and air flood back into her lungs. Funny, teleportation hadn't felt at all like she thought it would. As all the cells of her body materialised and reformed where they had not been previously, she felt her insides churn like they were in a washing-machine, and then every joint, from her toes to the top of her neck, clicked simultaneously. Valerie struggled to get her breath back, struggled to make sense of the world as her eyeballs still spun in her skull. She doubled over Shendu's fingers, trying her best not to heave until her stomach could stabilise. She felt the pull of gravity as he lowered her onto warm flat stone, and then released her. Huddled on all fours, it took several moments of deep breathing before some semblance of normal returned to her.

Through the strands of hair that had fallen in her face, Valerie tried to recognise where she was. They were both stood inside an industrial complex, huge warehouses surrounding them with various company logos on all sides. The builds looked to be in slight disrepair, one in particular looked almost abandoned. The sun was close to setting and Valerie could hear in the far-off distance the sounds of machinery and the voices of workers. Shendu walked away from her and towards the abandoned building. He stepped up to the sliding metal door and hooked his claws underneath it. He pulled on it, and with a loud _clank_ , whatever locks had been put in place snapped and he rolled it up to peer inside.

Adrenaline burst into Valerie's veins as she recognised the opportunity to run. Now, whilst his back was turned! Though the thought crossed her mind that he could've transported them anywhere in the country (and possibly the world, considering his power), the voices still in the distance sounded like English… she hoped. Maybe they hadn't left the city yet. Jumping to her feet, Val tried to ignore the rush of dizziness that threatened to consume her. She ran for the narrow passageway between the warehouses towards the noise of workers.

Suddenly her feet left the ground as a set of iron claws plucked her into the air. Valerie's shriek of fright was silenced when Shendu pressed his other arm around her, keeping her out of sight. She felt the world jolt and shift and thump as he ran with her, and then not even light peeked through his arms. The metal door squealed as it was pulled shut, and then there was a hum in the air and another pull on Valerie's gut. Shendu uncurled his arms, holding Valerie in hand. With his other arm, he turned on the spot, his hand waving all around the air in a circular motion. A slight sparkle seemed to cover the air, as if ice-crystals were suspended over everything. Once it was done, Shendu once more put Valerie back on the ground.

She didn't wait for another opening. As soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran for the nearest door, surely too small for him. But the handle wouldn't budge. Not even then normal stiffness of a lock in place – no, the handle _literally_ wouldn't move, as if it were made of stone. Panicking, Valerie spun and raced back across the room to another door, only to get the same result.

"You know, Valerie," Shendu spoke out with a huff. "I would be quite offended by this if it wasn't so tedious."

"Why won't the doors open?!" she demanded. There was no way out – but there had to be!

"A simple spell to ensure we will not be disturbed or overheard. This building is now completely sealed. Whilst these walls stand, no one will be able to enter or leave until I relinquish it. Not that anyone will come investigating. The spell is also designed to make this place seem as uninteresting as possible. And even should they come close they will not hear a thing that transpires inside."

Valerie tried to calm her pounding heart. This was it. She was trapped. Tears pricked her eyes at the realisation of how utterly stupid she was. Only a few hours ago, she'd wondered what could possibly drive her to corruption to the point of freeing Shendu. Well, she had. She'd been played for a fool, and now the horrible future would come.

"Bravo," she hissed out fiercely to try and hold back her tears with anger. "Well done on tricking me _again_. What now, Shendu? You gonna free your siblings again? Restart world domination? Or will you just cut to the chase and impregnate me here on the _concrete_?!"

Her arms wouldn't stop shaking. The world was spinning. She thought she was going to vomit. Why was the room suddenly so cold? Shendu was quite for a long time. Despite herself, she dared to look at him. His face was unreadable, his eyes hard.

"You think that's my master plan? Charm you into freeing me so that I could force myself on you?" his voice was tight and strained.

"What am I supposed to think when you smooth-talk me into cutting you free?! How did that even happen!"

"I honestly did not expect it either, Valerie, I promise you. I underestimated the power of our connection. Blood holds our chi to our spirits, it is full to the brim with energy. You basically placed dynamite against the spell."

"Then why kidnap me?" she pressed, not trusting him or herself. She wrapped her arms around her chest to try and still her shaking sides, as if she would rattle all her bones out of their sockets if she didn't contain it.

Shendu shrugged. "Spur of the moment? Instinctive reaction to always have you with me? And also… because I would much rather have you with me to help in my quest."

"What quest?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. What could he possibly be up to _now?_

"Despite your assumptions, I did not escape Section 13 just to draw their immediate attention with plans for world-conquest. At least, not for now." His snide comment made her glare up at him. "But never mind that. There is a far more pressing issue to deal with at present."

"And what would that be? The demon chi?"

"The very thing that caused them to arise in the first place."

Valerie frowned, curiosity starting to get the better of her. "The bad-chi stars?"

"After the meteor shower, you remember all the earthquakes, the storms, the unusual behaviour of the ocean?" She nodded. And was it her imagination, or did Shendu look uncertain of himself? "None of these occurrences are mere accidents. They are the result of an ancient and primal force… Tiamat has awoken."

A dozen history classes piled into Valerie's memory so fast she had to blink several times in order to straighten out her thoughts. "Are… are you serious?"

"The meteor shower," he prompted a little impatiently. "I'm sure your chi-wizard told you that they brought with them an influx of energy that would temporarily shift the balance on earth? That was what awoke her, heralding Tiamat's return to the world. All these strange weather patterns is the result of her slowly coming back, her movements, her mind awakening. And it is also the reason why the demon-chi were activated from their own slumber – they responded to her own archaic being."

"Wait, are we really talking about the same Tiamat here?" Valerie said, stunned by how much her mind was spinning. "Tiamat from Babylonian myth? She's a myth, a creation story by the ancient Mesopotamians. Also, she's dead at the end of the story."

"All stories of gods have a smidgen of truth to them; the older they are, the more likely it is that they were once very real. Tiamat is one of the oldest and perhaps the most powerful of them all. And not dead. Just hidden away in eternal slumber for a very, _very_ long time." Shendu stared off into the distance, his eyes growing as hard as rubies. "And I want to find her."

"And… you want _me_ … to help?" Valerie swallowed to dry and wet her suddenly dry throat. "I-I can't do that! Shendu, I'm not some spirit-god-hunter- _person_! How could I possibly be of use?"

"When Tiamat hid herself away from the world," he explained, kneeling before Valerie so that they were closer to the same eye-level. "She made it impossible for anyone to track her by conventional mortal or magical means. Many have tried, but none have succeeded in discovering her. I believe only a bonded pair of Others, like she was, could find her."

"So you want to go and wake her up?" Valerie asked in a tone that made it clear she thought such a thing was a bad idea. "Tell me why that would be a good idea. What happens if we just leave her to do her own thing?"

"You've seen the chaos already wrought just from her stirring in her sleep," Shendu snorted. "Imagine what she'd do when fully awake."

What he was implying made a ball of icy fear condense in Valerie's stomach. "And… how bad could this get?"

"Well," Shendu replied almost nonchalantly. "When alone, her anger caused the destruction of Pompeii. When her husband, Apsu, was still alive, their marital disputes caused Pangea to split apart."

The ball of ice fell right through to Valerie's toes. She tried to steady herself and show no outward emotion – even if she wanted nothing more than to piss herself from fear. Yup. This was bad. _Very_ bad. _Extremely_ bad! Being a former history student, Valerie knew all about Tiamat – the Babylonian goddess of oceans and storms and all chaotic forms of nature. A being with that much power, alive and in the present day? Valerie could easily imagine the carnage, easily picture the thousands -if not millions or billions – of deaths. Shendu was right, they couldn't leave Tiamat to awaken on her own. Something like that couldn't just be left to chance.

"And why do you want to find her so badly?" Valerie found herself asking. And then the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to know. Was this another one of his schemes? Another trick? "Unless you just want to kill a potential rival, what could possibly interest you enough to go after her?"

Shendu was silent for what felt like an eternity. He just stared at Valerie with such uncertainty, as if he were trying to judge whether or not he could tell her. She'd never seen him look so… vulnerable. It unsettled her. And then, in the quietest whisper, he said three words that made Valerie's world completely tip on its axis.

"She's my mother."

* * *

The plane's wheels had barely touched American soil, when Jackie's phone shrieked for attention. At first, he'd smiled, thinking Valerie must've timed his flight perfectly to make sure they'd get home safely. But when he answered the call, it was not the voice of the young woman that greeted him, but Captain Black's. Before he could get a single word in with his old friend, Captain Black let loose a mad rush of words that Jackie at first didn't understand. But slowly, they began to sink in, and he felt his blood drain from his face. He didn't even have the cognitive function to hang up at the end of the call. He just let his arm go limp.

"Jackie?" he heard Jade ask distantly. "What's up?"

Slowly, he turned to face the others, who were lined up behind him to try and get off the plane. They all must've seen how faint he looked, for they all began to bombard him with questions as to what was the matter.

"Shendu's escaped…" he mumbled faintly, "… he's taken Valerie…"

The others flew into a panic. "What?!" "But how could demon break stone-spell?" "Does Captain Black know where they might've gone?"

As their questions blew over him, Jackie stood there, dumb and numb to the world, mind spinning. And as it spun, conclusions popped to life before his eyes. And then anger burned like fire in his stomach.

"It was Drago," he growled out.

The others stopped. Tohru cocked his head, confused. "What makes you so sure?"

"Who else could it be?" Jackie spat. "He was in the vault just a week ago. What if he planted a spell to go off later when we all had our guard down?"

Uncle pulled on his hair with frustration. "Lizard-Zits not important! Shendu now loose on world – with his Other! Must find him before he can enact evil plan!"

"But Sensei," Tohru asked, "What _is_ Shendu's evil plan this time?"

"World domination, duh," muttered Jade, though her skin was an odd shade of pale, her brow dotted with sweat.

Jackie didn't have time to worry about anything else as he began to hurry the others off the plane. "Come on! If we hurry, maybe we can catch them while the trail is fresh!"

* * *

Valerie stood there blinking rapidly, her brain having stuttered and stalled to a stop. It took several turns of the metaphorical key in the ignition before it would restart, and then it was roaring a thousand miles an hour. Throwing up her hands, she waved them back and forth as if to slow the conversation and the thoughts it invoked. "Wait a minute! The Babylonian goddess of chaos, oceans and destruction? _Your mother?_ Riiiiight, you're going to have to explain this one to me. Like, how?"

Shendu snorted. "Oh come now, Valerie, I thought you knew the mechanics of how babies were born. Well, this would explain why you've never jumped on my advances before…"

"Hardy-har-har," she said sarcastically. "Seriously. How is she your mother? She's not Chinese, for one. In the tale, Tiamat birthed gods but then made monsters when her husband was killed."

"One of those monsters being Yours truly."

She threw him a look, one that urged him to drop his quips that were only stalling and quickly explain himself.

"Fine, then," he sighed. "I will tell you what you need to know. Tiamat is a primordial being of creation. A raging storm of passion and maternity. She helped to bring the world into existence and to fill it with all manner of creatures. All throughout time she has shaped the world in different ways, moulded it to how the next stage of life dictates it should be. But her peace was not to last. Her mate, her Other, Apsu, was killed by humans. In her grief she cried out. And from the darkness, a great demon heard her. Typhon."

In Valerie's mind, she saw remembered an illustration from her highschool history text book. A god named by the Greeks as the father of monsters, a creature with snakes for legs, huge wings and a man's body. The story went that he waged war on Olympus and almost won, until he was crushed beneath a mountain. In retaliation, his wife had birthed monsters to wreak her revenge. Now that she thought about it, Echidna and Tiamat's stories did have similarities… But was what Shendu hinting at true? Was Typhon… "Your… _father_?"

"Yes," Shendu's grimace revealed how little love there was in such a relationship. "Dear old father was so classy, going to a grieving widow and forcing himself on her. He offered her the vengeance she sought. In exchange, all she had to do was birth his spawn. And so, my siblings and I came into the world."

"But in the legend, Tiamat was killed."

"The world should be so lucky. When we came of age, she cast us into the world to wreak our destructive powers on those she deemed her enemies. We did just that and more – oh, you think we were bad in the alternate reality? That was us all matured and settled down. When we were young and full of power to spend, we wreaked a battle on this earth the likes of which you can't imagine." The pride in his voice when he spoke of such things honestly made Valerie shiver with fear. And then, he seemed to deflate, it was as if all the joy had been sucked out of him. In its place, all that was left was this sense of loss, and growing bitterness. "And… fraught with shame… Tiamat fled. We did as she asked, and she couldn't stand the sight. She put herself in exile, far from where anyone could find her. And in that place she has remained. For centuries she has slept. Until now."

"Okay, so what does that mean?"

"You've already gotten a taste, haven't you? Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes threatening to erupt, storms and hurricanes unlike any the world has seen? That's just mother flexing her muscles. There have been times in history when Mother believes the world needs to go through a change. You've heard of the Mayan calendar, yes? That namely some point soon this age shall end and, in its place, will be born the age of fire?"

Valerie pretended to give a long hard think. "Hmmmmm, why am I more reminded of you?

"Hardy-har-har." He shot back, mimicking her voice. "I'm serious, Valerie. Mother cares not for the current inhabitants of the world if she believes they've had their time for long enough. New creations need the space, she'd say. She's raised oceans, dried the world, frozen up and then thawed out ice ages. All the great extinction events, all the major changes in the world you can name, they were all done by her. And if she is awakening now. That can only mean she has deemed it time for the world to be remade once more.

The woman was stunned into silence, face going pale. "Ooooooooooooookay, Mamma-dragon needs to be stopped."

"So you will help me in this?"

Valerie stared back up into Shendu's red eyes. Was it her imagination or was he watching her intently, as if attempting to judge what she might say. She thought about all that he had told her. His mother – his _mother_! Not only his mother, but a mother who by all accounts was a being of immense power and supposedly not all that nice. And one who was about to end the world as she knew it. Could she do this? Could she help him hunt down a goddess? This all seemed so much bigger than her. And yet when he spoke about his mother, something was nagging at her brain as to what this really meant to him. She knew she shouldn't trust him. Hadn't he just kidnapped her? But when he looked at her with such… _longing_ … she found it hard to ignore the pull on her heart.

Finally she sighed, and nodded. "Yes, Shendu. I'll help you."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hello lovely readers! Yes, I know this chapter is short, but it helps to set up everything that is to come over this next mini-arc. I hope you all enjoy it, because I can't wait to show you what I have in store! And part of that is to do with the big reveal - TA-DA! Shendu's Mummy is on the scene! I know a couple of you have been guessing at her identity, and kudos to those of you who came so close. I have been dropping hints about Tiamat since book one, her name was even dropped towards the end - I have been keeping this secret in for soooooooooo long and I'm so happy to be able to share it now! Let the hunt for Tiamat begin!**

 **Big thank you to InsanityisReality for being the amazing BETA that she is!**


	16. Lessons From The Book-Keeper

**Author's Note: Big thank you to InsanityisReality for being an amazing BETA, and also a big thank you to ilovedracoDH for inspiring a certain scene in this chapter by fangirling with me over Disney's "Gargoyles" as much as we do!**

 **I hope you all are good at remembering insignificant details from earlier on - it's all going to be important!**

* * *

Lessons From The Book-Keeper

If Shendu wanted her help so badly, then why did Valerie feel as if she was contributing nothing? Sat in the corner, Valerie watched as Shendu used his claws to carve out a perfect circle in the middle of the floor. He seemed deep in concentration as he carved out symbol after symbol around the circumference, glyphs that looked not quite Chinese or Japanese – or any kind of written language Valerie had ever seen. Feeling useless, she'd asked if there was anything for her to do, but he'd merely told her to sit and be patient whilst he searched through all the corners of the warehouse until he found some long-forgotten bag of salt. The longer time passed, the more annoyed Valerie became at being relegated to some kind of accessory.

"So what are we doing?" she finally asked.

"This is a summoning circle," he said.

Why did Valerie's mind suddenly conjure an image of a witch summoning the devil? "And who are we summoning?"

"The Guardian of the Book of Ages."

Valerie blinked several times in shock. "What? But that's impossible! After what happened last time we met, the Guardian told me he would make sure he and the Book would be lost forever."

"Lost is not the same as destroyed. You already know what would happen if the Book was ever completely destroyed."

Valerie shuddered at the memory of that swirling vortex of doom. The was one nightmare she'd rather forget.

"And besides," Shendu continued. "He will not be completely unreachable. We will be able to make contact."

"Why would we need to summon him here? I thought you were afraid he could zap you out of existence."

"We will not be bringing him here entirely. Think of it… like a window. It was how Daolon Wong was able to bargain with me whilst I still remained in the Nether-Realm. It will allow us to speak with the Guardian and vice-versa, but unable to make physical contact. Don't worry, we will be quite safe."

Finally, Shendu sat before the circle, pouring the heap of salt into the centre. With but a flick of his claws, he summoned to life balls of fire at four points around the circle, one for each direction of the compass. They floated just an inch or two off the ground, and burned brightly without any need for fuel. It was only then that Shendu motioned Valerie closer.

"If we want to maintain a steady connection, I require your presence in this."

Initially, Valerie didn't see anything wrong with this request – until Shendu decided to reach for her the moment she was close enough. He attempted to pull her into his lap where he sat cross-legged on the floor, and Valerie instantly attempted to wriggle away, blushing furiously. "What are you doing!"

"Transfer of Chi is much easier when we're touching," he said.

"And you can't do that just from me holding your hand?"

He didn't bother to hide his smirk. "Much easier this way." When all Valerie did was glare, her rolled his eyes. "I think it's safe to say I won't eat you."

Valerie sighed, and stiffly allowed him to direct her to sit between his legs, surrounded by his hulking body all around her. When he gestured, she placed her hands in his, and felt the moment when their Chi began to flow together. Above her head, Shendu began to whisper a speedy incantation, the words unrecognisable to her. There was a change of pressure in the air around them, as if a rainstorm had suddenly been conjured and was about to be unleashed. The fires around the circle flared bright and the salt in the centre of the circle began to emit a thick smoke that circled through the air. It hung like a balloon, large and wide yet never overstepping the circle's boundaries. Shendu growled, his voice rising in a command, and Valerie's hands tightened around his.

And then, the smoke-bubble began to clear, and shapes and pictures formed in its centre. Shendu had been correct in his description. It was just as if a window had opened up before her, and Valerie could see through the smoke to what lay beyond. She saw a white temple-like structure, one she recognised from long ago. And then, before her eyes, she saw the old and wizened dark face of the aboriginal shaman, with his grey beard and scraggily hair and walking-staff leant against his shoulder.

The Guardian stared through the window at the pair of them, and the way his brows were drawn down in a scowl suggested he was not best pleased. Considering their last words to each other had been rather friendly, Valerie was a little upset to think he was mad at her. But his focus was on Shendu as he glared at the large dragon. "I should have known you'd find a way to subvert even my spells, fire _snake_."

Shendu sneered back. "Even a novice would know to be very specific when wording such spells. You never mentioned anything about not being able to be reborn out of the Nether-Realm."

"I will be sure to take that under advisement for next time."

"Uh, boys?" Valerie mumbled. "Not that this isn't fun, but surely we're wasting our time acting like school children?"

The moment the Guardian's wrinkled eyes found hers, his features softened and he smiled like a proud grandfather. "Ah, the young pilgrim. It is good to see you again. My, how you've grown."

"I'm no taller than last time we met,"

"Not in body, but in spirit." He winked. "You still have some ways to go, but you are taking to heart my lessons."

"Enough," commanded Shendu. "To the matter at hand. I have summoned you, Guardian, to answer a simple question. Then we can both be on our way and forget the tediousness of this encounter." He fixed the aboriginal with a hard stare. "I'm sure you're aware of what is happening. The Earthquakes, the storms,"

"Aye," the Guardian murmured gravely. "Tiamat's return is at hand."

"I want you to tell me where my mother is."

"What makes you think I know?"

"Do not play me for a fool!" Shendu snarled, his ferocity coming on so fast that Valerie was taken by surprise. "The Book of Ages magically records all of history, since the dawn of time. Therefore, it should be written somewhere in its pages where she fled to after she abandoned her children."

"You would be correct in your assumptions, Shendu," the Guardian murmured slowly, and hung his head. "But unfortunately, the Book does not contain the information you seek."

"Lies!"

Suddenly, the Guardian's eyes glowed white and his voice boomed like thunder. "Do not think to call _me_ a liar, deceitful serpent! Need you be reminded of the power I wield?!"

"Enough! The pair of you!" Valerie shouted, distracting both of them for long enough that the simmering violence in the air eased a fraction. To try and calm the situation further, she gave the Guardian a pleading look. "Guardian, please, why wouldn't the Book have written down where Tiamat went?"

With a sigh, the last of his anger melted away and he spoke in a softer voice. "Because, dear child, Tiamat was one of the beings of creation that was there at the dawn of time when the Book was first written. Hers is perhaps one of the few powers that could be its equal. When Tiamat hid herself away, she managed to convince the Book only to say: ' _and she left the world of men'._ It did not say where."

"Please… Can't you give us any kind of clue?"

"I wish I did know her location, child. She was once mother and master of all, and it was my honour to know her. I would give anything to see her again, if I knew the way. But that is not within my power to know." And by the regretful gleam in his eyes, she actually believed him. "I do know, however, how you might discover this knowledge for yourself."

"What?" Shendu demanded. "How? Speak!"

"I was referring to the _nice_ young lady!" The Guardian snapped, and then turned back to Valerie. "There is a key, that will lead the way to Tiamat. And you, Valerie, already know of it."

Shendu roared. "That is no clue!"

"I have given you your answer. More than this I cannot say."

"Then I will _make_ you say! You underestimate me, old-man! You will suffer the power of a completed Other!" the dragon leaned forward, claws brandished as if ready to strike.

Valerie pushed her hand against the huge chest that pressed on her. "Shendu! That is _enough_ –"

He suddenly pushed her out of his way, turning on her with blazing eyes. "You are in enough trouble! Stay out of this!"

"Excuse me! I am not one of your underlings – you can't order me around!"

"Oh? Do not lay all blame on me, Valerie! You're the one in need of some _honesty_ here."

"I don't know what he's talking about! I don't know about any key!"

"You claim to be completed," said the Guardian in a strange and echoing voice that grabbed both demon and woman's attention. Valerie noticed with a sense of dread that the Guardian's eyes were white once more, and he was reaching one hand out through the window towards them. "But neither of you are willing to be one. It seems your journey to Tiamat must start with yourselves."

"What are you–"

Before Valerie could finish her question, she suddenly felt a sensation like a fish hook sink into her stomach and pull on her. The world spun, and she latched on to the closest thing she could reach – Shendu's wrist. Gravity deserted her, and weightless she was flung through space. She screamed but the sound was immediately torn away from her in the howling wind the surrounded her. The giant hand she held onto pulled her inside the cage of strong arms. And just in time as the pull of gravity abruptly returned and Valerie's stomach flipped nauseously as she fell straight downward.

Shendu took the impact of their fall with a pained grunt. Valerie felt her teeth rattle in her skull as she was jostled about. It seemed like forever, before their momentum came to a stop. The first thing Valerie was aware of, was the wind that bit at her hands and neck, or any part of her skin that dared to be exposed. Then she began to notice how sharp the air felt to breathe. With a groan, she extracted herself from a dazed Shendu. Ungracefully, she rolled off of his chest to the ground. At least it was soft. And wet, she realised as her jeans began to get soaked. And damn, why was it so cold?

Her eyesight cleared, and Valerie had to cover her mouth to stop herself from shrieking. All around her were the peaks of mountains, covered in ice and snow! Far below, she could see forests for miles and miles. She turned this way and that, hoping to see some sign of human life. But no, there was nothing. She and Shendu were stranded in the middle of nowhere!

* * *

When Nat was called to the Antique shop, she thought another Demon-Chi had been found. Yet when she saw the looks on the Chans' faces, ice began to claw its way through her veins. Jackie told her what had happened at the Vault, and for the first time, Nat honestly thought she would vomit from guilt. She could only nod dumbly, only half paying attention, as he told her his theory and plan. All that kept running through her mind were the heated words she and Valerie had exchanged just a few hours ago. She'd never thought that this could happen! What if that was the last time they ever talked? What if her friend would be taken away from her forever because of that monster?! In her panic, she immediately volunteered information on how to find Drago. She recalled seeing him in the alleyway downtown, and Jackie and the others immediately allowed her to lead the way. They were all so focused, that no one even bothered to tell Jade to stay behind.

It had been a while since she'd walked the streets, that Nat feared that she'd gotten herself lost more than once. But she needed to help find Drago. When certain things began to appear familiar, she became surer of herself. And sure enough, she came to the mouth of that same alleyway where she'd spotted him quite by accident some weeks ago.

"Okay, this is where I last saw him… where do we go from here?" she asked, turning back to the others. Was it her imagination, or was Jade looking a little sickly? The girl seemed very pale and sweaty.

"Uncle," said Jackie, "do you have a spell we could use to track him?"

The old man slapped his forehead as if Jackie should already know the answer to that. "Locator spell needs personal item of demon-boy."

"Is there nothing we can do?"

"No need, Chan." Said a voice. "Looks like trouble found you."

The group turned, and Nat instinctively reached back for her sword. Above them, perched on the wall at the end of the alley, was a smirking Drago. Perhaps it was the dark clouds obscuring the heavens, but Nat could've sworn his red eyes glowed a little in the shadows. The half-demon hopped down from his perch and strolled menacingly towards them. Behind him, the Ice Crew took his place on the wall as silent guards.

"Well, well, well," Drago chimed. "Look who stumbled onto the wrong side of town."

Tohru pushed Jade behind him, and attempted to speak in a diplomatic voice. "Drago, do you not remember out truce is still in effect – somewhat."

Drago sent a withering glare in Jackie and Nat's direction, both of whom were either still reach for a weapon or had their fists clenched. "Kind of hard for me to believe that when the opposition comes onto my turf armed and looking for a fight."

Val's words from this morning flashed through Nat's memory. Was there truth in what she said? Deciding to go with it for now, she slowly uncoiled her fingers from around her sword-handle and left it in its sheath. "Actually, we–"

"And a fight is what you'll get!" Jackie shouted angrily over her. "Unless you tell us what we want to know!"

Jade gasped at her uncle's sudden temper. "Uncle Jackie! What're you doing?"

"Ooooh," Drago cooed mockingly. " _Somebody_ grew a spine. About time, isn't it, Chan?"

"Stop stalling! Tell us where she is!"

Drago frowned. "Who?"

"You know who! Where is Valerie?!"

The frown deepened. "I thought she was with–"

"Oh my god! Can we quit with the guessing games already!" Nat screeched to be heard. She grabbed hold of Jackie's blue jumper and shoved him back, stepping into his place in front of Drago. "Few hours ago, Shendu broke out of prison and kidnapped Valerie. They're now both missing."

Nat knew he hadn't done it, simply because of the genuine shock that crossed his face. Drago seemed confused on how he should react, because he looked bewildered but also concerned. "Wait, Mom's… gone?"

"Yes!" shouted Jackie. "And I want to know where she is and what part you played in all this!"

"What part _I_ played?"

"You really think I'm that stupid?" It was Jackie's turn to shove Nat out the way as he pressed himself up into Drago's face. "You were all over that vault when fighting the Shadowkhan! You must've planted some spell to release your father."

"Apparently, you _are_ that stupid, Chan. Because I didn't do squat!"

The pair of them looked ready to break out into a storm of punches. The tension could be cut with a knife. Even the Ice Crew must've felt it, because they leapt down from the wall and came charging down to have their boss' back. Nat had only a split second to beat them to it before all hell broke loose.

"Hold it! Hold it! Both of you!" she shouted, pushing between them and holding them back at arm's length. She glared at Jackie. "Now, if anyone's gonna be ass-whoppin' demons, it's me. The rest of you, lay off."

"I'd like to see you try, red." Drago growled.

"Don't tempt me, lizard lips." She shot back at him. With a sigh to try and help calm herself down, she turned to Drago fully, and spoke in a way she thought Valerie might've been proud. "Look, Drago, we may not all get along. But we're asking for your help."

"We're _what–?"_ Jackie was about to screech in outrage, but Uncle decided to shut him up by slapping him with two fingers. "OW!"

"Quiet, Jackie!" Uncle snapped.

"Hmmm, let's see," Drago murmured, tapping a clawed finger against his chin and pretending to think. "Mom and Dad are finally having some alone time together, and my options are either to let them be, or hook up with folks that hate my existence to stop my parents from conceiving me. Not really seeing how the latter's gonna benefit me."

"Then help us because she's your mom," said Nat. "We just wanna make sure she's okay. If Shendu has her against her will… I'm not sure that's something you want."

Perhaps she'd never understand the look that crossed his face. An expression of guilt, of helplessness. But in another second, it was gone, and all that was left was his drooped shoulders of resignation. "Fine. You win."

* * *

Safe to say, Shendu himself seemed a little shocked as he looked around at their location. "Ah… This was unexpected."

"U-Unexpected?" Valerie echoed incredulously through her chattering teeth. In her light clothes and jeans meant for the late San Francisco spring, the cold struck through to her quickly. "You s-said the summoning was o-only partial, that we'd be safe!"

Shendu glared at her. "I cannot be held accountable for not foreseeing a being with his power being able to work outside the parameters of my spell. He probably just wrote in the book that we suddenly found ourselves at the top of the Rocky Mountains."

"That's where we are?" Well, at least they were a little closer than say, the Himalayas. "Can't you get us b-back? Mr I'm-Completed-And-All-Powerful?"

Shendu growled under his breath, but closed his eyes. A moment later, Valerie could feel him pulling on their connection, the rush of magic tangible in the air. But nothing happened. Shendu's eyes popped open and he looked around. He tried again, but the only thing to change was the sun to sink lower on the horizon, and the temperature to drop a little further.

"Curses on that damned Guardian!" Shendu snarled. "He's blocking me – _somehow!_ I'll kill him myself for this!"

Valerie groaned, hugging herself, feebly trying to retain some warmth even as she shivered. "I-It's like every fable and f-fairytale ever written. W-We're being t-tested." And just her luck, she thought to herself, that she had to be stuck with the most overconfident and prideful demon on the planet to undergo such a test with.

"Well, then maybe we can end this quickly," He leant down until he could stick his head as close to her body as possible. His warm breath ruffled her top, and his eyes glowed a few inches from her face. "What do you know about this 'key'?"

"Nothing!" she insisted. "I don't know why he w-would say I did. You'd think I would remember c-coming across a magical muguffin to open the way to the mother of apocalypses!"

"You'll have to forgive me, but honesty is not what you're best known for."

"Look who's talking!" she seethed. "Look how m-many lies you've sold to get your o-own way, not c-caring for who you hurt in the process! What's to stop you from doing it again?"

"And _you_ , always pushing away the one that cares about you most of all. Why do you think I always latch onto you so hard? It's because I know that at the first opportunity, you'll run!"

Only the wind howled around them as witness to their harsh words. Yet in their anger, the pair of them had revealed the startling truth. Valerie turned away from him to hide the sting in her eyes. "G-Guess that's it then. We're not h-here to figure out the k-key. This is about how d-deep down, neither of us r-really trusts the o-other."

Shendu was silent. But Valerie supposed that the truth must be just as shocking to him as it was for her. To think that he didn't trust her, it hurt some place deep within her soul that she adamantly tried to deny existed. Did it hurt him just as much to hear her admit it? Her musings were cut short as the wind began to pick up. Rain so far high in the cold turned to snow, and as it fell hard and fast, Valerie only now realised that the sun was completely set. The last remaining warmth in the world was snatched away, and her shivering increased until she could barely feel her fingers and toes.

"It's getting cold," Shendu murmured. "I cannot teleport us away, and without my talismans I cannot fly us out either. We will have to descend this mountain on foot."

"Y-you mean w-walk?" Valerie echoed, tucking her hands under her armpits in a vain attempt to get them warm.

"It's 4 degrees centigrade now. In those clothes, if we do not find warmer climates, then you will not survive the night." And with that, Shendu stepped towards her, and before she could even utter a protest, he scooped her up into his arms.

"W-what are you–?"

Her struggles died the moment she realised just how _warm_ Shendu was. It was like being held next to a furnace, hot to almost the point of pain, but oh-so-delicious at the same time. She melted against his barrelled chest, tucking herself into a ball and pressing her face and hands against him. Shendu obliged her, wrapping his arms around her so that she was surrounded by him on all sides. It was easy to forget that he didn't need the combustion talisman, for seeing as he was the demon of fire, he would obviously have a natural affinity for it.

Shendu carried her close as he trudged down the mountainside. Though wind and snow battered him, the demon stood firm against it all. He was always sure to keep Valerie as concealed as possible. It didn't take long for Valerie to warm up, but she remained silent for most of the climb down. No matter what words she tried to say, nothing seemed appropriate. After they outburst earlier, what could she say? Shendu himself seemed content with the silence, not offering much in the way of conversation. As they came further down the mountain, snow turned to rocks and brush and snow transformed into ice-cold rain. It made going down a little slippery. At one point, the rocks slid out from under Shendu's weight, almost sending the pair of them tumbling down the mountain. If it hadn't been for Shendu's quick thinking to roll onto his stomach and smash his fist into the ground as an anchor, all whilst cradling Valerie against him with his other arm… Valerie didn't want to think what might've happened otherwise.

The worsening conditions prompted them to seek out shelter until this storm could pass. Besides, Shendu could keep Valerie warm all he wished, but he could do nothing to stop the rain soaking her, she realised. A flash of lightning in the distance revealed a something not so far away that caught Valerie's attention. "Over there!" she'd exclaimed and pointed. Shendu had hastened to obey, and in the mountainside, they found a shallow cave that was just barely tall enough for Shendu if he crouched down. But at least it was sheltered from the weather, Valerie thought enviously.

Shendu tucked himself inside, Valerie still huddled in his arms, practically draped over his lap and leaning into his chest. The listened as the wind howled around the mountain outside, and the rain trickling along the stone and dripping from the roof of the opening. In the dark, and barely able to see without the flash of lightning from outside, Valerie felt blind, and had to use her sense of touch for sight. She could feel Shendu all around her, her backside sitting on his muscular thigh, one of his arms draped behind her back, his fingers absentmindedly playing with the ends of her jeans almost like a fiddling habit he was completely unaware of. His stomach rose up and down pressing against her every now and then as his great lungs expanded with air before allowing it to rush out in a quiet sigh somewhere above her head. With her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear his mighty heart pound like a slow and calm drum. A shiver rippled down her spine.

"Here," he murmured quietly. She suddenly felt his other hand take hold of both of hers, the large palm swallowing them both as he curled his fingers around them. A thick appendage she realised was his tail curled around her feet. "Your extremities will be the coldest. It's best we keep them warm most of all."

"Yeah," she said quietly as the heat made her sigh in bliss. "Would hate to lose a toe or two."

"Indeed. You would be completely repulsive should that fate befall you."

She frowned up at where she assumed his head to be. "You don't mean that, right?"

He chuckled, the rumble in his chest vibrating against her whole body. She felt the end of his muzzle bump against her head, nuzzling into her hair. "Of course, I don't."

Despite herself, Valerie snorted in amusement, and relaxed. Damn it, though, if Shendu's warmth wasn't lulling to the point of making her feel drowsy. Even her eyelids started to feel heavy. "You know? You're really warm…"

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Ha-Ha," she muttered. "Seriously, winter would be so much easier to get through if I had a huge water-bottle like this to snuggle every night."

Perhaps it was the fatigue, or the effects of hypothermia that made her say such things. A distant voice told Valerie she wouldn't be saying such things if she were of a sober-mind! But in that moment, she found that she didn't care. It was the truth, and she was comfortable. That was all that mattered.

"Oh? I would be honoured to fulfil such a position," Shendu said, the grin evident in his voice.

"You're hired," she sighed and almost dropped off to sleep. However, something occurred to her, something that bubbled up inside her with guilt until she had to blurt it out. "You're not a complete liar, you know."

"Pardon?"

"I do trust you," she explained. "Because I know that despite all the other stuff you've done, you haven't really lied to me…" _except for that one time I can't get over,_ she finished in her head.

"And I don't ever want to," he told her in a soft voice. "Now sleep, Valerie. You need rest. Don't worry, everything will be alright."

The arm behind her shifted slightly so that it was still supporting her, but he could reach up to stroke his claws through her hair. The sharp ends scratched and massaged her scalp and sensation of his fingers brushing through the strands was rather therapeutic. With his heat and the delicate and soothing touch, Valerie found herself falling asleep so fast, she barely had time to mumble 'goodnight'.

* * *

 _Valerie's dreams were filled with distorted random images, noises and sensations at first. And then, like an ocean wave crashing upon the rocks, something burst through the cacophony and washed it away to reveal something clean and clear._

 _She floated as if in an outer-body experience that made her feel weightless and sick. Below, she could see herself sat at the counter of Uncle's shop. There was a cup of tea in her counterpart's hand, and she sat reclined and reading the newspaper. Valerie recalled this day. It had been some time after the incident at the Zoo, this was when Jade had been busy with her girl-scout business. But why would she be dreaming of this moment? What was so special about this?_

 _As if directed by her wonderings, her spiritual-presence descended in order to be able to read the newspaper over her physical counterpart's shoulder. The little advertisement in the corner made her gasp._

 _'_ _NEW BABYLONIAN EXHIBIT OPENING SOON AT THE SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM! Famous explorers and archaeologists Sam Hepburn and Charles Stanton wish to invite you to come and listen to their tale of their dig-site in Bagdad, where they will unveil a new artefact exclusive to the museum, and how it could uncover many of the secrets still concealing the religions and rituals of ancient Babylon!'_

Awakening with a start, Valerie looked all around, disorientated. There was a chuntering noise of pistons firing and an engine roaring. The sensation of motion surrounded her as the floor swayed back and forth. It took the woman a moment to recognise that she was laid out on a hay-bale in the carriage of a cargo train. The side door was open, revealing the mountainous and forested landscape to be rolling by as the train journeyed onward. The storm clouds were long gone, and the moon above painted the entire landscape in shades of blue and silver.

"I am here," came Shendu's voice. Valerie swivelled around, and found him sitting in the corner behind her, concealed in the shadows.

Valerie looked out at the open door, then back at him, and frowned. "Did you carry me the whole way down the mountain? How long was I out?"

"You've only been asleep a few hours," he shrugged. "And we needed to get off that mountain and back onto our quest."

He'd cared for her the whole way down, made sure she rested, made sure she was warm. His dedication to her care astounded and touched her. It oddly made the woman unsure of what to feel. She then remembered everything that she'd said before passing out, and her cheeks burned bright red that she was sure he could see even in the dim light.

"Um… thank you." An awkward silence engulphed them, before Valerie suddenly remembered her urgent news. "Oh! Shendu! I had a dream. I think I know what 'the Key' is that the Guardian talked about!"

That got her his full attention.

"Several weeks ago, a couple of archaeologists uncovered an artefact in the ruins of ancient Mesopotamia. It's opening this weekend in a new Babylonian exhibit in the San Francisco museum. I saw it in a newspaper."

Shendu looked thoughtful. "An artefact of Babylon being discovered around Tiamat's awakening? It cannot be a coincidence." And then he grinned. "Seeing as we're already heading back to San Francisco, I believe this is worth investigating. Thank you, Valerie."

The words were spoken so sincerely, she blushed. To try and escape his gaze, she scuttled off the hay-bale, and wandered over towards the open door in the train. She'd seen shots like this in movies, but to experience it for herself was a different thing. She had to hold onto the doorframe as the train's rocking motions on the tracks threatened to unbalance and make her fall out of the carriage. As the landscape of trees, mountains and lakes rolled by, Valerie couldn't help but be swept away in the almost fairy-tale-esque beauty and serenity of it all. And then, through the trees, she spotted a house beside a lake. It looked like it was still being built, if the scaffolding and building materials laying all around were any indication. Yet still it was completed enough for her to get an idea of how good it would look when finished. It was all alone by the lake, with no neighbours, not even a streetlamp.

"See something you like?" Shendu asked, making her jump when she realised he was suddenly beside her.

"Yeah," she murmured, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It would be a dream to live some place like this. Nothing but trees and nature for miles,"

"You don't enjoy the city?"

"I don't mind it. But I'm an introvert, if you hadn't noticed. I don't need a shopping mall or crowds to make me happy. No, I'd retire happily with birdsong in my ears, no one for miles to disturb me, curled up by a fire with a good book."

The dragon looked down at her and smirked to himself. "Well, maybe someday you can have that."

Valerie didn't see his smile and just laughed. "Ha! Maybe when I've won the millions. No, it's a beautiful dream, but one I can't afford."

With that, she left him there by the door and returned to the hay-bale, perhaps to catch some sleep before dawn arrived or they got to their destination. Shendu watched her go, and then looked back out onto the partially built house in the forest. "Or perhaps one day, I could give that life to you."

* * *

 **A/N: I can't resist the Shendu/Valerie fluff :3 Please review!**


	17. A Dragon In Sheep's Clothing

A Dragon in Sheep's Clothing

As Shendu had predicted, the train brought both him and Valerie back onto the edges of San Francisco within several hours. As soon as they came back into the city's limits, the effects of the Guardian's temporary spell must've worn off, for he was able to whisk them away. They didn't stop until they reached downtown, where no one would look too closely if a building looked like it had squatters inside. And that's kind of what Valerie felt like, as Shendu found a construction-site for what was going to be an apartment building. The shell of the building was complete, along with all the walls and floors and basic layouts on the inside. Some of the apartments even had a few working bathrooms. More than likely, lack of funding or red-tape of some sort had halted the construction for at least a little while. It didn't look like any of the builders had been there in at least a week. Shendu found them an apartment on the middle floor, so that they would have some time to react to enemies coming from either above or below.

The main room had a large window-area, but with no window in it, allowing a constant breeze into the apartment. Shendu insisted on it because it would work as an escape route should they be cornered. Valerie thought he was being over-paranoid, but decided to keep her mouth shut. She couldn't complain about it that much, as the apartment had a working bathroom for her to use and the room that was going to be the dining-room (she thought) didn't have a window, so would work as a nice place to sleep. Shendu had put up his spells again so that no one could see or overhear them. And then just like that, he left her. Valerie wondered if this was some trick, for surely he should anticipate her trying to escape, why would he leave her alone…

And then the revelation from the mountaintop came back to her and her cheeks burned with shame. He hadn't trusted her, but now he was trying to show that he was willing to extend some trust. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she did the same. And besides, she had told him she would help him find his mother… With a sigh, she turned back to get her own work done.

Scouring across the construction site, she managed to pull together a few supplies to use in the apartment. The first thing she did was nail a tarp-sheet over the huge open window. She didn't care for Shendu's wish for an escape route, or his spells that would supposedly disguise their presence. If she was going to be walking about in this apartment, she didn't want an open window where someone had even the potential of seeing her. She then foraged through until she found dust sheets that might work for bedding. For a moment, she missed the Fish-Cannery for a secret hideout. At least there she had proper blankets and working radiators. And who would've thought! Probably delivered too early and just dumped at the bottom of a stairwell, still wrapped in plastic, was a king-size mattress.

Rolling up her sleeves, the skinny blonde struggled to pull and push the huge uncooperative bedding up the flights of stairs. At one point she considered giving up, her knuckles scraped raw, her fingertips numb from clutching so hard, sweat dripping down her back. But all she had to do was think of the option – sleep on the hard floor, or a soft mattress. It was all the motivation she needed. Huffing and puffing, limited strength straining, she heaved and shoved the stubborn mattress around the corner of the stairwell and onto the right landing. As she pushed it through the door, the resistance against it vanished and it flopped onto the floor – and left Valerie to fall right along with it.

She squeaked as she landed face down on the mattress, her breath fogging the plastic. This thing must've been worth a pretty penny, because even with it abandoned for who knew how long, it still had plenty of spring in it to make Val bounce. The temporary respite was enough to sap the woman of her energy, and it became a little more difficult to motivate herself to get up.

"Now _there's_ a view I could get used to…"

Valerie gasped, looking over her shoulder to find Shendu leaning against the doorframe behind her, a smirk plastered across his lips. It took her a moment to figure out what he meant… and then realised the view he must be getting. Her… on all fours… on a mattress… and he probably had a good view of her ass from this angle. Valerie felt her cheeks burn crimson and she quickly tried to stand – and cover up how her stomach filled with butterflies at his stare.

"H-How long have you been there?" she asked. Had he watched her struggle up the stairs the past hour?

He chuckled and strolled towards her, bent, and with one hand hoisted the huge mattress up and dragged it along effortlessly down the hall towards their apartment. "Only just now, unfortunately. I have a feeling I missed quite the show…"

"Wouldn't you like to know," Valerie mumbled, but the words didn't have the bite they once had. Since the pair of them had come back down from the mountains, things had been a little… strange. She couldn't explain it all, not even to herself. Something about the rapport they'd established between themselves had changed on that little adventure. And now, no matter what either of them tried to do, they couldn't ignore it, like a huge pink elephant in the room with them. It left Valerie feeling nervous and… slightly _exhilarated_ , all at once.

Shendu came into the apartment, and looked all around at what she'd managed to do with the place. his scaly brows rose up a little bit as he glanced down to her. "My, my, Valerie." He said in amusement. "I had no idea you were such a home-maker. Top-notch work, I must say,"

"Had to make the best of what I had to work with," she shrugged. And then, she didn't know why she did it, but blurted out: "A shame we don't still have Valmont's money. Would've been nice to flunk it on a penthouse or something."

He snorted. "It would've been worth it just to watch the pompous fool squirm."

"There's always next time."

Why had she said that? Shendu even seemed a little surprised at her statement. _Next time…_ He didn't comment, just smiled a small smile, as Valerie averted her gaze with a blush. It was only at that moment she noticed he was holding something in his other hand. A black duffle-bag, and it looked heavy and filled to the brim.

"What's that?"

The demon-dragon deposited the mattress on the floor and glanced down at the bag she indicated to. For some reason he didn't show it to her right away. Instead he tucked it out of sight around the corner of the door. "That, is Plan B."

He was hiding something from her. Despite how much that unexpectedly stung, she decided to just avoid the topic. "And what's Plan A?"

"I was hoping you would help me come up with that," he stated. "We need to get to the Artefact. I must be allowed to interact with it to hopefully find out what this key truly is."

"Well," Valerie murmured thoughtfully. "We'd need to speak to the ones who found it. Sam Hepburn and Charles Stanton. They'll be the ones overseeing the entire exhibit in the run up to the grand-opening night."

"Then we'll just need to have a little _chat_ with these fine gentlemen, won't we?"

" _WE?"_ Val echoed a little worriedly. "Wouldn't it be better if I spoke to them – _alone_? A demon-sorcerer might draw a little unwanted attention."

Shendu's grin was like a wolf's when about to devour a helpless lamb. "Ah, now who said anything about them meeting a _demon-sorcerer?"_

* * *

Uncle and Tohru had researched through all hours of the night and into the next morning. It was mutually decided that if Drago was joining forces with the Chans, then neither side should invade the other's sanctuary. This way, Drago got to keep his Junkyard hideout a secret a little longer, and the Chans felt like they had a little space. Not that he would voluntarily walk into that viper's nest anyway, he told himself. The one time he had gone in there… hadn't ended well.

The half-demon supressed a shiver as he pushed back the memories. _Traitor!_ a little voice inside his head kept shouting at him accusingly. And it made him mad because he felt like it was right. He _was_ a traitor, a traitor to his quest, a traitor to the vows he'd sworn long ago, and a traitor to his mother. Though he kept trying to tell himself that all this was _for_ his mother, it made no difference. When he'd teamed up with the Chan's the first time against Tarakudo, that had been different. Tarakudo was a mutual enemy that needed to be put down, it was in the best interest of all parties. Now? He wasn't so sure. His earlier points still stood: it only benefited him if his parents were left alone to possibly conceive him. Why should he try to help the Chans to stop that?

 _Because Red has a point too_ , he conceded. He had to admit, the fiery demon-slayer had him backed in a corner on this and she knew it. While he knew that his parents needed to create him at some point soon, as the next calander year was the year of his birth, there was still the matter of… consent. Drago was not an idiot. He knew his father's past with other humans, knew he was capable of it. But what little he could remember of his mother, she never spoke of her marriage to Shendu with any kind of revulsion or horror. If anything, Drago always thought she grew wistful, happy even, whenever she used to talk about her husband. Drago didn't think his father would do such a thing to Valerie: the way he spoke about her, the way he interacted with her, it said of the true affection he held for her. Yet, Nat had put the picture in Drago's mind of his mother screaming as someone forced themselves upon her. Now, Drago might've been the proverbial son-of-the-devil, he might currently have plans to take over the world. But not even he could stand the thought of someone hurting his mother, not even if that would mean technically saving his life. Again, he didn't think his father would do it, but Red had only needed to plant the image in his head to get him on board. She'd played him well, and he was almost impressed.

It was late in the morning when received a call from Nat, asking to meet. They decided on neutral territory: a little run-down diner that was falling apart with never any customer and who's owner was half blind. Drago told the Ice Crew to wait on the perimeter of the joint so that he could appear to be alone and they would swoop in should he need them. He came wearing a huge trench-coat to his big bulk and tail, and a hoodie underneath to try and cast his scaly head in shadows. He arrived first and picked a seat in a booth by the window, able to see anyone coming in through the door from here.

He didn't have to wait long before the bell rang as Nat and Chan walked in. Chan himself looked like he could use thirty hours of sleep, which Drago couldn't find in himself to sympathise. Each pain that man suffered brought him equal joy. Nat looked her usual polished and dark-self. Though he might've once thought she was emo trying a little too hard to be an edge-lord… damn it, he couldn't argue that leather made her look _fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine_.

The two slid into the seats opposite him. Chan looked like he'd rather swallow a razor-blade, but that only made Drago grin wider. When there was nothing but heavy silence at first, Nat rolled her eyes upon realising she would have to be the mediator in this exchange. Again.

Drago beat her to it. "You said you gotta plan?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Uncle's putting together a locator spell. He should have it ready to go by tonight, so you'll need to be ready for when we call."

He felt whatever faith he had in the Chan-Clans' capabilities vanish. "You can't be serious."

"What wrong with the idea?" Jackie asked hotly.

"Well, for one it sucks." Drago snapped back. "You don't think Dad's already thought about you using that kind of spell? There's gotta be something better!"

"You're free to put in any effort at any time."

"Uh-huh, you'd like that, wouldn't you, Chan?"

"Enough!" Nat growled out. She made sure the pair of them were settled back down before she said in a quiet voice. "Drago, the point is, this is the best we got right now. Let's at least say we tried before we dismiss it, alright?"

It was clear they weren't gonna listen to him. What was the point of this ' _team-up'_ if they weren't going to listen to his advice? Why even come to him in the first place? Grinding his teeth, he quickly jumped up to his feet and scooted out of the booth. "Fine."

Before he could completely walk away, a hand grabbed hold of his wrist. Drago's first instinct was to fight back from the threat. He spun, snarl on his lips, claw raised. He froze when his eyes caught those of Nat just inches away. In his haste to attack, his hood had slipped free with the momentum. With a quick glance to the near blind cook at the counter, Nat reached up and set it right back around his face. Drago just stood there, staring, dumbfounded.

This was probably the closest they'd ever been – aside from when they fought. He'd always appreciated that she was hot before, but he'd never taken the time to notice the green of her eyes, or the way he got a peak at her teeth through the curve of her lips. For a creature such as him who was used to being feverishly hot all the time thanks to his fire-chi, her touch was cool and soothing.

"Hey," she said, and instantly directed his attention back to her. "Look, I know waiting sucks. I'm not keen on it myself. And… to be honest… I'm not sure it'll work either. It's like you said, Shendu knows we'd come at him with that. That's why I called – put something together, as a Plan B. Okay?"

The redhead was more observant than he gave her credit for. The corners of his lips tugged up in a small smile. He nodded. She nodded back and let go of him. Turning away from her, he stalked out of the diner, gazing down at his hand where she'd grabbed hold of him. Why did he suddenly miss the feeling of being cold? It wasn't the same when he stepped outside and the wind pulled at him. No, it was something deeper than that.

Gravel crunched under his feet as he stalked towards the fence at the edge of the parking-lot and leapt straight over it. In the alleyway, he strolled down and welcomed the embrace of the shadows. Behind a dumpster, he stooped to snatch up in his stride a gym-bag he'd hidden there earlier in the evening. One by one he stripped the unnecessary articles of clothing, like the trench coat and the hoodie and stuffed them all in the bag. It felt good to be able to breathe in his own skin again. He continued on, and behind him three other pairs of feet fell into step behind him.

"You find anything?" Drago asked in a quiet voice.

"Nah, D-man," said Cobra. "Chi's been real quiet."

Drago's brows twitched into a scowl. "The other Chi's can't stay hidden for long. The rest will reveal themselves soon. I can feel it."

"Yo, will that be before or after you done playin' hooky with the Chans?"

He stopped walking, frozen up by the sneering voice of Ice and the outrage it invoked in him. Slowly, he turned around to face his henchmen. DJ-Fist was his usual stoic self, Cobra looked a little uncertain, and Ice had what his mother would've once said: _a face like a smacked ass._ Drago fixed the lead lackey with a glare. "Excuse me?"

"I said it," Ice went on, seemingly oblivious to the anger he was inciting further and further in his boss's eyes. "This whole Kumbaya-thing ain't my style. I signed on to put the hurt on Chan, and to get me some Demon-Chi."

Drago growled. It was the only warning Ice had before his fist launched out and snatched hold of the front of the teenager's shirt. He pulled Ice in close to his bared teeth and held up his other hand in a fist. It ignited in a ball of flame that he held next to Ice's wide eyes. "Let me make this clear," Drago rumbled out in a low voice. "You _signed-on_ to do what I tell you, when I tell you. If I say you get the demon-chi for me, you do it. If I tell you to kiss Lady-Liberty's ass, you do it. Understand?"

Ice nodded. With a hard shove, Drago sent him careening into his friends behind him. Fist and Cobra did their best to catch him, but Ice's momentum made even them stumble back a little. The three younger teens looked up at their boss who advanced on them. Drago was beyond pissed, not only that his authority had been questioned, but that they dared turn on him. After he'd gotten them back from Tarakudo, he couldn't have been more relieved. He didn't say it out loud, but he'd missed the three's playful banter in the junkyard, how they were so inventive, how they made him feel not so alone. Guess that made him the sucker for trying to care, and the realisation only made him all the madder.

"Need I remind you three ungrateful louts that if it weren't for me… _and Chan_ …" he added in bitter whisper, "You'd still be under the control of that pumpkin head?"

The three visibly shivered. Yes, they knew all too well. Being under that monster's control, it still haunted their nightmares. A feeling of being trapped in a black-sack, of having your head tied in a plastic-bag, of swimming through oil – fighting to get out but unable to find the way. Cobra was the first to speak – in his own spineless way. "You gotta understand, D-Man, we just don't know where this is headed."

"Yeah," agreed Ice, getting a scrapping of his own courage back. "Why we gotta get in bed with Jackie Chan for?"

"We're not!" Drago snapped. "You think I'd get on Chan's good side? I trust him about as far as I can throw him! Only ever count on an enemy to be an enemy. We're only seeing this through until they slip up and we can get into Section 13."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' bout!" Cobra cheered. "Them Demon-Chi be prize pickin's."

"Not yet. I need to make sure my mother is minding herself. In the meantime, you three will spread out in different directions, keep an eye out." He reached into the pocket of the gym-bag and pulled out three pagers and handed them to each of the Ice-Crew. "When I feel the presence of a Demon-Chi, I'll send a message. You can secure it for me whilst I deal with the Chans."

* * *

"Shendu, come on! We're going to a museum, not prom!"

Valerie paced in front of the closed 'bedroom' door. For the hundredth time she straightened out her pressed jacket to make sure there were no wrinkles. She still had to wonder at where he'd found this. She wore suit-trousers and a pale silk shirt with a black fancy jacket. In all honesty she reminded herself of her mother whenever she was dressed for court. But she had to admit the suit made her look very professional and mature. She'd at first thought Shendu must have stolen the clothing when he'd gone out for supplies, but he'd refused her accusations. So how?

He hadn't answered, just told her to make herself presentable whilst he did the same. Now she stood there waiting. The sun was starting to set, and they needed to be at the Museum soon. The plan was to get there as it was about to close, when it would be cleared of most tourists, but the managers and staff would still be around to talk to. Including the pair of archaeologists they needed to speak with.

Impatient, she stomped her new high-heels to the door and banged on it again. "Shendu! If you're not out this door in three seconds, I'm leaving without you! One! Tw–"

The door opened, and out stepped a man.

Valerie stumbled back in shock, ready to scream. Someone must have broken in – her first instinct was to call for help! But then her eyes caught a second look, and she froze.

The man was tall, outrageously tall, he had to be close to 6'9, at least, and had to be in his late thirties or early forties. Though his height made him a giant anyway, he seemed to dwarf even the doorframe he stepped through, with massive shoulders and huge muscular arms and barrelled chest. It was not steroid-muscle, the look of something fake and over-proportioned; no, this looked scarily real and Valerie felt puny with the realisation he could snap her in half with ease. The man looked half-Asian, with his prominent cheek bones and slightly angled face. Yet he had a handsome roman nose and strong long chin. Black hair was arranged in almost a tousled sort of way but not so that it looked unkept. But it was the eyes… brown eyes that seemed to hold a hint of ruby in their depths. And then there was the tell-tale tattoo lines sweeping from his brow to his cheeks.

"Sh-Shendu?" Valerie gaped. Yes, she could see it now. He even had the ends of a moustache at the corners of his mouth where his whiskers would've been in his dragon-form, and a black goatee that was pointed like the spikes on his chin.

Human-Shendu grinned in a way that seemed familiar yet she couldn't help but find it unnerving. "Handsome, aren't I? Wouldn't you agree, Miss Payne?"

"B-but… _how?!"_

"You were there when my dearest brother-of-the-wind escaped Hollowlands, were you not?"

The memory clicked in her brain. "A spell of concealment, right?"

"Exactly. The glamour I've chosen is one that's similar to my own appearance, but is also free to touch as well." In the excitement of his own pride he swept her hand up in his and brought her knuckles to his mouth to kiss them. She could feel the rough texture of his lips, the tickle of the hair on his skin, a hint of the moistness of his mouth. "I am rather fetching, wouldn't you agree?"

Valerie pulled her hand free, unable to quit staring in uncertainty. "You look… fake."

Shendu's face crumbled. "W-well… Valerie! That's a little harsh, isn't it?!"

"I'm used to the scales," she shrugged. "I guess it's just gonna take some getting used to."

Shendu had a sour expression for the entire journey to the museum. Valerie let him sulk, and wondered why it had initially bothered her so much that he was human. Was it just the shock value? If so, then she'd get used to it. Was it just because she was used to seeing him in his dominating draconic self? No, it couldn't be that either because she'd seen him as a human via Valmont's body. She didn't have the answers for that and honestly had better things to occupy her mind tonight. A whole script she'd devised was currently being rehearsed in her head and she needed to make sure she had it memorised so there would be no mistakes.

They arrived at the museum just as they'd planned. The main entrance hall was barren of anyone apart from the receptionist. Valerie led the way with Shendu-in-human-skin right behind her, looming behind her like a menacing shadow. They passed a few people on their march as Valerie sped the way towards the Babylonian exhibits. Whatever men (or women) chose to look their way, should their eyes linger on Valerie for more than a few seconds, Shendu fixed them with such a fierce scowl they were sent cowering back in fear.

The exhibit they were looking for was in one grand room on the eastern side of the museum. Valerie could see the glass doors, could see the room with the large Victorian-gothic-like windows on the other side. Her view of what might be the treasure they were looking for was obscured by the large red curtain that hid their prey from view. And as she and Shendu approached the doors, two men stepped through them.

Valerie recognised them from the posters and the banners and advertisements she'd seen all over the block. Sam Hepburn was a portly man with a rough ginger beard and Charles Stanton was a scrawny brunette who looked like he was three-pounds away from being labelled anaemic. Yet Valerie had expected two middle-aged men filled with pride in their latest accomplishments. Not two haggard individuals who looked as if ghosts kept them from sleep each and every night.

Though it would've been preferable to sneak into the exhibit unnoticed, it was time to put their script to use. "Oh! Mr Hepburn! Mr Stanton!" Valerie exclaimed in an eager yet calm voice, trying to sound as professional as her attire made her appear.

The two men spun at the sound of their names, already sweating as if they were being held at gun-point. Valerie wondered why they would be so skittish, but decided to save that information until later. She swept up their hands and shook them strongly. "It is a pleasure to meet you! My name is Mrs Stone, and this is my husband," she gestured to Shendu.

"Gentlemen," Shendu murmured, shaking their hands as well even if his eyes said he'd rather do anything else. He shot a glare at Valerie and she bit her lip to hide her smirk. She knew he'd hate that name.

"We've been so excited to meet you!" she hurried on, not letting them get in a word. "We're historic-enthusiasts, we own an antique shop upstate. And when we heard you would be in town – well, it was an opportunity we couldn't miss."

Shendu put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him, a false chuckle of mirth rumbling out from him. "Now, now, _dearest_. Curb your excitement. You'll overwhelm the poor souls."

"I know, _honey._ But we've been looking forward to this all month!" Valerie pretended to whine. "And I hear it's a Babylonian artefact, isn't that right? Ancient Mesopotamia is of great interest to us and–"

"Please! Stop!" Hepburn moaned, dabbing at his sweaty forehead with a napkin. Valerie stopped, going pale. Had she done something wrong? "Mr Stone, Mrs Stone. Please understand, whilst Charles and I appreciate your enthusiasm for our work, we simply cannot entertain you at this time."

"What? Why?" Valerie asked. "All we want is to talk about the new–"

"No." said Stanton. "The opening gala is tomorrow night. If you want to see the artefact, you may do so then. But you'll get nothing from us!"

Shendu stepped forward his eyes hard. "Surely, gentlemen, we can come to some sort of _arrangement_ –"

"Save it," Hepburn did his best to appear brave, even though it was clear that Shendu's physical presence unnerved him. "We've suffered enough threats. If the pair of you won't leave, we'll be forced to call security–"

"No!" Valerie exclaimed and pulled on Shendu's jacket to bring him back to her side. "I'm so sorry, Mr Hepburn, Mr Stanton. We didn't mean to cause you any trouble. We'll just be going now."

For an awful moment, Shendu resisted her attempts to pull him with her towards the exit. Reluctantly, with a growl under his breath that only she could hear, he followed her. Valerie did not look back once, did not deviate from her path as she led Shendu back towards the exit. Her mind was spinning. Hepburn and Stanton's behaviour, the fact they mentioned they'd been threatened. Someone else was after the artefact.

She waited until they were out of sight of the stone steps to the museum and its security cameras before she spoke. "What do we do now?"

"We resort to more drastic measures."

* * *

They only had to wait an hour, for when the darkness of true night swept over the city of San Fran, when the museum was closed and the only inhabitants inside was the lone security guard. Shendu and Valerie had occupied themselves by sitting in a café at the bottom of the street. Once Shendu decided the time was right – or his impatience won out – he led the way back towards the museum. It was clear what he intended: to steal the artefact. Valerie wasn't sure how she felt about that, the historian in her wailing at the sacrilege she was about to commit.

Shendu must've been paying attention to the layout of the building. He led her down a tight alleyway that must've been the eastern-side of the building, for when Valerie looked up, she recognised the pattern of the old Victorian stone windows. Scratching her head, she wondered how Shendu planned to get them all the way up there without notice. They didn't have any of the Talismans.

"There has to be a better way than this," she whispered mostly to herself.

Shendu heard her and snorted derisively. "Such as what?"

"I don't know! We could wait until the exhibit actually opens – do we _have_ to break Museum property, and steal this thing?"

"No. We need that artefact and it must be toni–"

He was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming from further down the alley. Perhaps it was the situation that had her in a mood to be easily panicked, but Valerie froze up, convinced it was a cop come to sentence her to life in jail for daring to defile the holy sanctum that was the Museum! Shendu moved first, he grabbed hold of Valerie around the waist and pushed her against the wall of the alley, hidden behind a large dumpster. She squirmed, the expensive jacket was going to be ruined from the grime on this wall alone.

A curse echoed up from the bottom of the avenue, and a shadow moved on the wall. Whoever it was, was coming closer. Shendu fixed Valerie a pleading glance. "I need to kiss you."

She blinked, shocked. "What?! Why would you–"

She could see them now, two men. They hadn't noticed her and Shendu yet. Whilst she was certain Shendu would be able to dispatch them, bodies would draw attention, and she didn't want injuries or possibly even death on her conscience. These bystanders needed to not see them. They needed to be overlooked.

Biting her lip, Valerie threw caution to the wind, flung her arms around Shendu's neck and pulled him down to crash her lips onto his.

His lips were hard, almost unyielding, his shoulders so broad that she struggled to loop her arms around them completely. It only took him a moment to get over his shock that _she_ was kissing _him_ , and returned it full-force. He parted her lips and eagerly plunged his tongue into the depths of her mouth. He tasted of woodsmoke and the coffee he'd had at the café. Valerie couldn't help but feel a small rush, as Shendu pressed her further into the wall, angling his face so that he could deepen the kiss as far as he could. He was like a starving lion getting his first real banquet, and eagerly taking his share.

Memories of her dreams swept into Valerie's mind and she had to fight the urge to shudder. It was like they were coming true, and that both elated and frightened her. She couldn't deny that Shendu was a good kisser – a _really_ good kisser. One of his hands swept down her side, from her shoulder, down her ribcage and waist, to her hip and back up again. The other tangled itself in her hair, pulling on the strands just enough to encourage her to turn her head so that he could trail kisses from the corner of her mouth to her jaw and then down her neck.

The two men stumbled up towards them, and when they noticed the couple making out in the alleyway, they had to stop and stare incredulously. Valerie felt her cheeks burn furiously with embarrassment, but then Shendu was pulling her mouth onto his and kissing her in a way that made her feel dizzy and forget everything else about the world.

"Ah, jeez," complained one man in a slightly slurred voice. "Get a room, would ya!"

Shendu broke his kiss from Valerie just long enough to throw a glare over his shoulder that would've melted metal with its intensity. He growled a very inhuman sound, before turning back to Valerie. With that same ferocity, he grabbed hold of the backs of her thighs and hoisted her into the air, encouraging her to wrap her long legs around his waist. Valerie gasped at the sudden unexpected move, but the sound was swallowed in Shendu's mouth as he kissed her passionately again. She couldn't help herself – she moaned, out load.

"Alright, alright, we're goin'." Complained the other, and she heard the pair of them grumble and stalk away towards the street.

The pair broke away in order to catch their breath, and Valerie found herself staring at Shendu, at how he seemed to surround her, be the only thing in her world she could see, touch, even hear as she could make out the sound of his purrs vibrating in his chest. She too was trembling, but not for the reason she initially thought. Over and over, she tried to tell herself that this was supposed to be pretend, a way to distract those two men so no one would be suspicious. But if it was just an act, why were her hands pressed underneath Shendu's jacket as if she were trying to strip it off him? Why were her legs still wrapped around him firmly, without the need for him to hold her up, and she felt okay with that?

And why-oh-why, did she feel heat pooling through her body when her core was pressed firmly against Shendu's heat. Why did she feel a tingle across her skin, a jolt below her navel, when she realised she could feel a slight bulge in his pants right against her?

Slowly, as if fearing she would break or she would bolt, Shendu put her down and took a step back. Valerie felt grateful for the space, felt as if she could breathe again. To try and avoid eye contact with him, she attempted to straighten the sudden wrinkles in her jacket and fix her hair.

It felt awkward to cling to his back when he indicated as he used his magic to help him climb the wall like a monkey. When they reached the window, Shendu uttered some sort of spell to undo the lock, and then the pair of them slipped inside.

Valerie felt immediately forgotten as Shendu strolled right up to the red curtain that hid the mysterious artefact from view. He parted the way, to reveal a glass box. Within, laying on a red-velvet cushion was a spherical-shaped object. From the glint it gave as the light shined upon it, Valerie could guess it was made of pure gold. Dots and lines were carved across its surface, and it took Valerie a moment to realise with a thrill of excitement that it was a star-map! No wonder it was such an important find! It could prove advanced astronomy in ancient Mesopotamia. Shendu didn't seem interested in its value, however, as he attempted to look over the box.

"Shendu," Valerie warned in a whisper. "You break into that, alarms will go off. What do we do?"

"You could just hand it to us."

The new voice startled both Shendu and Valerie, who spun. Four men dressed in black were stood by the open window they'd just entered from. They each wore masks around their faces, and two of them even had bullet-proof vests! Valerie swallowed thickly when she caught sight of the rifles they held in their hands.

The leader sucked on his lip, peeved. "Figures. You go through the trouble of planning a heist like this, you even take out the security cameras, and some punk thinks he can roll in with his Harley-Quinn rip off."

"You want me to take 'em out, boss?" asked one of the subordinates. He pointed his gun at Valerie. The woman fought a whimper as she held up her arms in surrender. Her heart was hammering, all she could focus on was the end of that muzzle pointed straight for her heart.

Suddenly, her palm tingled, and the air flexed and pushed around her. Gravity shifted as she was pulled across the room and straight into Shendu's waiting arms. The thieves looked astonished at the impossible thing that had just occurred in front of them. Shendu calmly set Valerie on the ground and pushed her behind him, his eyes had lost the human look about them, and instead burned the bright seething red she was used to.

"My turn."

Shendu flicked his hand, and all four men went sailing into the air to crash against the stone walls behind them. They were suspended ten feet off the ground and trapped there. With one twitch of his head, Shendu sent their guns careening across the floor. Valerie gasped in astonishment as she was reminded of how her Other didn't require his Talismans in order to be a force to be reckoned with, now that he was a Completed whole. Shendu held up his left hand and it glowed brilliant white, the same way it did whenever Valerie used hers. Green lightning shot out of it and speared into the four thieves.

They screamed, all of them spasming and flailing as if they were being electrocuted and one even passed out. Shendu's fingers curled and the bullet-proof vests were squashed by an invisible force and then ripped away from their owners. Valerie knew that someone would hear the commotion, someone would be coming. And whilst she thought these thieves might deserve whatever punishment they got, it was still unnerving to listen to their screams as they were tortured to death.

Gently, she laid her hand on Shendu's shoulder. He glanced down at her, and for a moment, she thought he would ignore her slight plea. Instead, he rolled his eyes and pulled his arm back. With a loud _CLANK_ , four bodies fell to the floor in ungraceful heaps. "Be thankful to my _Harley-rip-off_ ," Shendu spat. "She just saved your lives."

Footsteps came from around the corner, and then security were sweeping into the room. Shortly after came a platoon of cops. Valerie felt her stomach sink as she was certain that she was about to be arrested, her face splashed over the news, the ghost of her father's disappointment haunting her. She huddled into Shendu's back as if to hide completely from sight.

The cops took one look at the thieves on the floor and then at them. Maybe Valerie's frightened demeanour actually helped. One officer came and interviewed them on what had happened. Before Valerie could speak, Shendu spun an impressive half-truth. He explained that he and his wife had been enjoying themselves at the café, and had even thought to sate their passions in the alley (Valerie could've died from embarrassment when he mentioned that). When they noticed the thieves sneak in through the window. Feeling it his civil duty to stop them, Shendu had followed them up, and Valerie had followed him. He'd explained away how he'd managed to incapacitate four armed individuals by briefly mentioning that he'd spent time in special-forces. The cop only had to take one look at Shendu's impressive muscular physique to believe that was true.

And then… that was that! The cops only gave them a stern warning not to practice being a vigilante again, but otherwise left them. Valerie watched in shock as they cuffed and dragged away the moaning and blubbering thieves who spoke madly about a monster with magic powers.

Someone else stepped up beside them, and it took Valerie a moment to realise that it was Mr Hepburn. The man looked like he'd been dragged out of bed. Though she expected an unpleasant experience, Valerie was once again surprised when Hepburn took hold of Shendu's hand and shook it – he even bent over to kiss it!

"God bless you, Mr Stone!" he cried – _actually_ cried. "You have no idea what you've done for us! Ever since we returned from the middle-east, those bastards have been hounding Charles and me. They've tried to rob us of the artefact – _TWICE!_ And they've even threatened us and our families to hand it over. I don't dare wish to think what that piece is worth on the black-market for all this trouble!"

"Be thankful it did not fall into the wrong hands, _this time_." Shendu said with a slight smirk on his lips that only Valerie could detect. She subtly elbowed him in the ribs to cut it out before someone caught on to how on the nose he was being.

"Indeed!" Hepburn agreed. "I'll be upping security right away! But oh, I cannot thank you enough. Please, tell me what I can do to repay this kindness?"

Valerie tried to step in on the conversation. "Actually, if we could just have a–"

Hepburn spoke over her excitedly, as if Valerie hadn't said a word. "I know! Why don't the pair of you come to tomorrow night's gala, here at the museum to celebrate the exhibit's opening? I'll get you VIP tickets straight away – you'll be my honoured guests!"

Shendu glanced down at Valerie. She stared back up at him. She gave a slight shrug. This was up to him. She would rather have this done quickly so they wouldn't need to linger. But the gala was a legitimate way for them to get close enough to the artefact to figure it out without risking another break in – which as Hepburn had just confirmed, would be a lot harder next time.

With a smile that revealed his ivory-white teeth, Shendu said: "We'd be _delighted_."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This was a hell of a fun chapter to write! If anyone spots the Ancient Magus Bride anime reference - brownie points to you!**

 **Please review! All comments are welcome and appreciated!**


	18. Hidden Desires

**Author's Note: This story has now been shifted up to "M" rating for sexual situations. Hope you guys are ready for this. If you do not want to read that, you do not have to.**

 **Big thanks to iloveDracoDH for helping me work out the typos!**

* * *

Hidden Desires

"Well," said Shendu, a smirk working across his human face. "I would consider that a noteworthy success. Perhaps we should celebrate?"

Valerie frowned, pulling up short at the edge of the sidewalk. "Celebrate?"

"Indeed. By tomorrow night, we will have the opportunity to get to the key and be one step closer to finding Tiamat. We shall need to make the necessary arrangements in order to be presentable for such an occasion."

The woman had to decipher his words for a moment to understand his meaning. When she did, she couldn't stop the surprised laughter that bubbled up disbelievingly. "Are… Are you saying you want to go _shopping?"_

"You will need a dress. And I can only provide so much on guess-work," he said, motioning to her current outfit.

"Where are we gonna get the money for that?"

He didn't answer at first. He stepped into the road and signalled down a cab. They got in and he ordered for it to take them to an address that was a block away from their abandoned apartment-building. When they arrived, he commanded the driver to wait there with her still inside, and he briskly went off into the shadows of the night. Ten minutes had elapsed, and Valerie had started to fidget, when he returned, he had the duffel-bag he'd had earlier that day. As he climbed back into the car, he told the driver to take them to the nearest mall.

"What's in there?" Valerie asked cautiously.

Shendu undid the zip only a fraction, just enough for her to see the wads of money stuffed inside. Valerie's eyes widened with panic. She clamped her hands over the zip to hide the money away. Glancing at the driver, she quickly reached up to slam closed the sliding plastic window that would make it more difficult for him to hear them.

"What in the hell is this?" she demanded in a hushed whisper. "Jesus, did you rob a bank or something?!"

Shendu chuckled, "Relax, Valerie. I knew that if we were to infiltrate the human world, we would need funds to do so. So, I went into the hills, discovered a small pocket of gold ore and I sold it in exchange for your human currency. The money is clean, if that is your concern."

She threw him a deadpan look. "What, so you just hiked out into the middle of nowhere, just FOUND some gold and pawned it?"

"Precisely." He shrugged, as if to say: why should such a thing be ludicrous.

"So, this bag of money was your Plan B?"

"I needed something in mind in case we didn't get the Key."

They arrived at the mall, and Shendu paid the driver and walked off without waiting for his change. Valerie had to half-jog in order to keep up with his long stride. Considering the late hour, the shops were close to closing-time, but would still be open for another half-hour or so. The up-side, there were no people apart from the shop attendants. Shendu walked briskly through the brightly lit, echoing halls, glancing around, and looking a little out of place. Valerie suspected that he had no idea what he was looking for. When he finally picked a store, he seemed to just glance in the window at all the items on display and seemed to think it appropriate. He didn't even take notice of the expensive brand name in bold letters above the door. Valerie gulped as she ducked inside; normally she wouldn't dare to come near this shop, she wouldn't even be able to afford a pair of shoes from here.

The clerk seemed a little bewildered that the pair of them would be coming in at this time of night, but Shendu spoke in a tone that commanded instant obedience and respect, as if he owned everything and everyone around him. The clerk subconsciously stood a little straighter, spoke more respectfully, and hurried to do everything Shendu asked of him. The clerk was soon pulling Valerie along in order to showcase to her all the available dresses and other items that she would need. The poor woman felt utterly lost, her usually moderate taste in attire making her completely out of her depth in this world of highly expensive silks, satins, sequins and designer dresses. Some dresses were too revealing, or too MUCH for her to handle. At one point, Shendu abandoned her, claiming he needed to go and sort something out for himself before quickly leaving her. And it was whilst he was gone, that Valerie spotted a shimmer of the deepest, darkest blue from the corner of her eye. Her attention focused on it, and the clerk hurriedly tried to give her the big salesman pitch on the dress to hook her interest further. There was no need, just by looking at it, she knew this was the one for her. When Shendu returned, secreting something he'd bought into his pocket, Valerie had the dress packed and gently placed in a box and hidden from sight. She suddenly felt excited, like she was back at prom, and her date wasn't allowed to see her dress until the big night. Shendu didn't seem to catch on or even overly curious to what she'd bought. He just gave the clerk his cash, and then led Valerie back out of the shop.

It was late when they arrived back at the abandoned apartment-building. Perhaps the adrenaline of the night was still coursing through her veins, or maybe it was the excitement for tomorrow, but Valerie felt lighter than air. She practically skipped into the unfurnished, cold apartment that they'd claimed as their own. She placed her box safely in a cupboard, out of sight. The moment they were secure inside, Shendu stripped himself of his human skin in a blaze of fire, and returned to his natural draconic-looking-self. Valerie watched as he stretched out the muscles in his shoulders, like his body had been cramped and hunched over for hours inside the human-form, and he needed to work out the kinks. Yes, she decided, she finally felt at ease with him in this form. This was something she was used to, something she knew what to expect from.

"Get plenty of rest," Shendu was saying. "We'll need it for tomorrow night."

Valerie hesitated at the door that would lead to the room with the mattress and blankets waiting for her. She was tired. But she watched Shendu a moment longer. He sat himself in the corner of the room, one talon hooked at the edge of the tarp that covered the window so that he might peek outside to watch what was coming.

Words blurted out of her mouth before she could think better of them. "Where're you going to sleep?"

"It is not necessary for me to sleep as much as you require. I will only need an hour or two in order to still keep my wits about me. And that will be out here. Don't worry."

He spoke without once looking at her. Valerie didn't know why she suddenly felt as if leaving on this note felt horribly inadequate. "Thank you," she said hurriedly. "For saving me, earlier, I mean. I appreciate it."

Still he did not look her way, gazing out onto the street far below, though his voice was soft and quiet. "So long as I breathe, I shall let nothing in this world bring harm to you."

Valerie felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart doing a little flip. She tempered her reaction, biting her bottom lip. She willed herself to leave it at that, turn around, close the door and sleep on her own. Over and over she tried to follow such simple instructions… but her heart wouldn't allow it.

"Hey, you know what, it's a little cold tonight." Her heart crashed against her ribs as she suddenly panicked over this sudden impulsive action. What was she doing?! Shendu finally broke his gaze away from the street to stare at her, the tarp sliding from his fingers. His gaze didn't help her, and she wanted to run and hide and pretend she said nothing. But she'd already started, and though her stomach was trembling, she knew she had to finish. "Why don't you, um, sleep in here? I know you said you don't _need_ sleep, but maybe it would still be good for you – and, I mean, you put up all the defence spells, there's no need to keep watch, really."

Slowly, he stood and walked towards her. Had he grown again or was it just that she felt so very small right now, because he seemed to be looming above her. Red eyes studied her, analysed every feature with an unreadable expression.

"Look," she finally snapped, trying to cover her own trepidation. "You can either sleep in here or just say no."

"Is this what you wish?" he asked in a quiet, deep voice.

"Sure," it surprised her how easy that was to say. Shendu nodded. He made to step in the direction of the bedroom, when Valerie stepped in front of him and pointed a finger up in his face. "But keep your hands to yourself. Any funny business, and you're out. Understand?"

He chuckled. "You have my word, my lady."

* * *

Drago just loved moments when he could shout from the rooftops: I told you so!

He'd met with Nat and the Chans at a park round the block from their shop. Neutral territory again. He'd been assured that it was all systems go, that the wizard would have a spell ready and they would move out to save Valerie. But, as the old man pulled out the spell and went to charge it up, it fizzled, crackled… and went _flop_.

"Uncle does not understand!" the old man wailed. Then he turned on Tohru. "Did Tohru brew potion properly?!"

The giant sumo gulped. "O-Of course, Sensei."

And here came the part Drago loved: "The spell won't work because it _can't_. I did tell ya it wouldn't."

"Smart mouth teenager does not know more than Uncle!"

"Oh yes he does," Drago growled back. "Dad's probably blocking the spell, or has got some kind of magical protection against this sort of thing. He's now completed, what did you expect?"

"Then how would you suggest we find them?" asked Chan, his eyes hard.

Red had told him to prepare a plan B. He would provide one. He'd perched himself at the top of a slide. With a grin, he flipped into the air, came back down, and slid all the way down with perfect balance. "The way I was taught," he said, "nothing's stronger than blood. Valerie's my mom. I can use my blood to help find her, sort of like a relative detector."

"Didn't your last tampering with Blood-Magic go horribly wrong?" Red pointed out, arms crossed.

He huffed crossly. "That was different. This time, I actually know what I'm doing."

Striding over towards Uncle, he ignored the glare from Chan, or the looks of interest from Tohru and Jade. Uncle held out the small book, a personal item of Valerie's, the glow of the locator spell still taking hold. He held up his hand and used a talon of the other to pierce his palm. A single drop of blood fell from his chest and hit the front cover of the book. Instantly, the spell BOOMED to life, shining bright as a sun. Drago felt the magic sap at his energy, drawing on him, on his blood, to search for the one he sought. In his mind, he felt an invisible thread lead out from his head and pull him along in a certain direction.

"I've got it," he announced once the light had died down a little. "She's not far, just across the city-centre."

"He kept her in the City?" Nat frowned. "He could've taken her anywhere on the planet, why stay in San Fran?"

"Doesn't matter." Jackie said briskly. "Let's–"

"Jackie?" said a little voice. "Can I go home?"

Everyone turned, extremely surprised, to Jade. She sat on a swing, looking sickly pale, sweat beading on her forehead. Drago would've expected the little brat to be excited at the thought of danger and adventure. This was most uncharacteristic of her. In fact, she looked like Hell.

"Jade?" Chan immediately knelt before her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I…" she struggled for breath. "I just don't feel well."

"I will take her back home," Tohru volunteered. "I'll see to it that she gets plenty of rest."

"Thank you, Tohru," Jackie nodded.

As the giant lifted the tiny child into his arms, she reached out to Chan, her eyes wide and desperate. "Uncle Jackie! Please, bring Val home. I… I really need her right now."

No one seemed to know what the child was talking about. Impatient, Drago gave a loud cough, which jarred everyone to moving. With little more said, him, Chan, Nat and Uncle got in the car and were then racing across the city.

* * *

 _Valerie walked along long halls lit by a blue glow from some unknown source she couldn't spot. In the shafts of light, she could make out walls of stone or marble, all carved expertly with such exquisite detail, it were as if they'd been real beings frozen into stone. She saw a bull, its horned head raised high as if to spear some unfortunate soul beneath it. Further on, Valerie spotted a carving of a swan, its great wings spread wide and his head raised proudly. Or further than that there was a great bestial creature, snarling with all its curling teeth on display, its tongue lapping at the feet of a woman, her head tipped back, mouth hanging open, her long hair spilling down her front as if to shamefully cover her breasts where she laid naked on the stone column she was affixed to._

 _Stone beneath her feet was cold, there was a chill in the air that made Valerie's flesh break out into goose-bumps. Only then was she aware of her nakedness. Or, partial nakedness. She could feel the cool and gentle touch of silk hug her back, her arms, feel the swish of a skirt against the back of her ankles, the slight pinch of a sash tied around her waist. Yet she wore no bra, nor panties, for she could feel herself, skin against skin, a soft secret touch that somehow felt so new as she walked along this ancient corridor. She wanted to look down at herself, to orientate herself. But the light would not allow her to see herself clearly._

 _There seemed to be something calling to her at the end of the corridor, for she did not know why she was being pulled along like this. But something inside her was telling her she MUST, that there was something at the other end she NEEDED to see. And then before her, were vast and great double stone doors. On each side were carvings of animals, and she realised that upon one door, she recognised all mammals that were distinguished in appearance as males, such as lions, stags, peacocks, apes and others. On the opposite door, were all their female counterparts. She hesitated, suddenly feeling daunted, but once again that burning curiosity, that inherent part of her that resembled Eve and Pandora, demanded that she learn what lay beyond those doors._

 _She pushed them open and was astounded by glittering light. Her eyes stung, and she shielded them until the glow faded. Cautiously stepping within, Valerie found her eyes mesmerised. The room was about thirty feet wide, the marble floor polished so finely it reflected her face back up at her like a still pond. Every wall, from top to bottom, were mirrors. A thousand Valerie's stared back at her, and she stared at them. A black dressing gown made of fine thin silk that hugged her form and left nothing to the imagination. Partially see-through and with the front opened enough to reveal the valley between her breasts, and all the way down to her navel. She wanted to cover herself in a blush of embarrassed modesty, but at the same time, she was… entranced by the way she looked. In all her life, Valerie had never once viewed herself as sexy, but this… She couldn't help but be fascinated at how different, how much older, more confident, surer of herself she seemed to be._

 _This new-found fascination, this confidence her image seemed to reflect back into her, pushed her forward into the room. In the very centre stood a huge stone platform, so large ten people could stretch atop it with room to spare, so tall it towered over her. It even had a small set of steps that she had to climb to reach the top. Once there, she gasped as she was beset with the sight of dark velvet bedding, shimmering in the light that seemed to be conjured from an assortment of diamond jewellery laid out all over the bed. Necklaces, chains, bracelets, earrings, all made of diamonds, spread over the bed._

 _Not knowing why, Valerie tentatively sank a knee onto the velvet, and found it to be the softest mattress she'd ever touched. Needing to feel it beneath her fingers, against her skin, she laid herself down, eyes closed in bliss. Diamonds tinkled as she brushed her arms along the divine fabric. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips._

 _"_ _Valerie…"_

 _Her eyes snapped open. Shendu was perched beside the bed, his knee barely touching the mattress as he leaned over to watch her. His eyes blazed down at her, like twin fires that crackled with heat so strong she could feel it scorch her skin. Those eyes roamed slowly down the length of her body, taking in every detail, and then slowly drawing their way back up to her face. Her heart beat a little faster, and she couldn't decide whether it was in excitement or on the verge of a panic attack. There was blatant hunger in his expression, he was practically drooling as he stared._

 _For a fleeting moment, she felt the need to cover herself, that confidence she'd felt upon entering this room abandoning her. She tried to sit, to pull the dressing-gown closed over her chest, even if she was aware that it was still see-through. Even though she knew this was a dream, that none of this was real, that the Shendu before her wasn't the real one, her mind had conjured a perfect replica, and she still felt the tingle of fear of being laid bare before him._

 _"_ _Quiet," he commanded in a hush tone, and Valerie stilled. He pushed himself down to all fours, like an animal that wanted to ease tension by showing submission. Head lowered until his chin brushed the diamonds on the bed, he stared up into her eyes where she sat before him. "There is nothing to fear…"_

 _And she could believe that. This was just a dream, it could end the moment she woke up, she knew no real harm would come to her. Yet, even then, she knew Shendu in the real world wouldn't hurt her. He'd done many things, but she honestly believed he would never go so far as to harm her. And in all truth, she was fascinated by the power balance that seemed to have suddenly shifted. In her dream, everything would be how she wanted it, and here was Shendu bowed before her whilst she was surrounded by an alter of wealth and comfort._

 _Entranced, she watched Shendu's lowered head inch closer to her, like a disciple before his goddess. With tender caution in his every movement, his hand reached for hers. He held it, turning it so that her palm faced towards the ceiling. Gently, he brought his lips to her flesh and kissed it. Valerie felt heat begin to worm its way through her veins, making her face, her neck, her chest, blush a rosy pink. Shendu's tongue slithered past his teeth, lapping her hand before trickling down to her wrist and along her veins._

 _His eyes, bright and seeming to pulsate with his desire, fixed on her face. His fingers closed more firmly around her hand and he gave a slight tug on it to try and draw her towards him. "Come. Let me hold you."_

 _She hesitated only for a moment. Her eyes glanced to the mirrors, to see the pair of them reflected back at a thousand different angles. Temptation, confidence, curiosity, it all oozed into her as she stared at this new her she saw in the mirrors, and of the beast that drew her in. Slowly, her muscles loosened, and she slowly crawled towards him. Settling himself more comfortably on the bed, Shendu pulled her in until she was sat in between his massive thighs, facing him, his arms looped around her so that his claws could brush up and down her spine._

 _Leaning his head down to hers, he kissed the corner of her mouth. Valerie gasped in surprise, not thinking her imagination would be so bold with her. She submissively sat there and allowed him the kiss, tasting his heady scent on his tongue as it explored her. There was that fire that had been there before in her other dream, but she was still in shock as to what to do, whether to allow this. Yet she couldn't stop herself from moaning as Shendu's finger reached up to cup the back of her neck, to tilt her head so that he might deepen the kiss. Her hands reflexively reached out to brace against him to keep her balance. She felt hard, unyielding muscle beneath her touch, interlaced with a burning heat that seemed both scalding and wanting._

 _Shendu broke off the kiss when the pair of them needed air. But he wasted no time and kissed his way along her jaw, and then buried his nose in the crook of her neck, drinking in lungful's of her hair. A deep vibration worked up from his chest and vibrated against Valerie's skin, making her entire body thrum with growing excitement. In the back of her mind, a little voice tried to tell her that she shouldn't want this, that this shouldn't be her secret fantasy, it was wrong._

 _Why should it matter? It was just a dream…_

 _"_ _Oh Valerie…" Shendu whispered, the tremble of his voice right beside her ear, making her shiver involuntarily. "Even here, why are you such a tease...?"_

 _She shouldn't do this. It was wrong on so many levels. He was the enemy, of all the bad things he'd done, all the shit he'd pulled, she should've screamed and run the other way. But when his claws traced a path up her arm, electricity sparked. Where her skin touched his, heat blossomed and melted her into a pool. It was something so private and secret, so carnal and forbidden, it was a drug that addicted her to it the moment it whispered of the possibility. She was Eve, Pandora, Persephone; the temptation was her undoing. The fact that she wasn't supposed to only made her think about it more, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted it. Yet if this was a dream, wasn't it already declared fiction? No one would know save herself, and she could store it away deep in her subconscious where no one would ever find it…_

 _Fuck it._

 _She launched herself at Shendu, lips clashing against his in a strange form of kiss. His fangs pressed against her flesh, her lips squashed in place. After only a second of hesitation, she felt him return her passion with full force. Neither of them wanted to think about what they were doing, just giving into what their bodies desired. Shendu opened his mouth, and hers with it. His tongue swept inside of her and explored every region it could reach. The forked end flicked to the roof of her mouth and she moaned. She sucked on it, her tongue clashing with his, eager to taste that strange spice that was all him._

 _His hands grabbed her. One hand clamped on her back, the other held onto her backside and ground her against him. Valerie squealed, the noise swallowed in his hungry kisses. A hot length dug into her belly from through his loincloth. It surprised her, but at the same time, to think that someone thirsted for her with such ferocity – it was hot as hell, and it was almost shameful how it made her feel so wet._

 _God, this was all so wrong, but she couldn't care less._

 _There was a tension in her navel, an energy that needed to be released. It made her act without thought. Her hips ground against his, soaking up every piece of delicious friction that made her moan louder and her body arch into him. A deep growl reverberated out of Shendu's huge chest. His eyes were locked onto hers._

 _Claws reached up and intertwined with her hair. His reptilian purr pounded around her ears, lulling her into a trance of ecstasy that made her powerless to anything but the heat she felt. He gently wound the locks around his fingers and tugged until she leant her head back and exposed her neck. He broke their kiss and immediately lapped his tongue to the hollow of her throat. Valerie could feel the sweat pouring off her, and felt her hips jerk involuntarily for some kind of friction. Damn, she wanted more; why wasn't just this simply enough?_

 _As if he sensed her need, Shendu pulled back and suddenly flipped her until her back was pressed against his chest. She was made aware of how perfectly they fit together. Her ass cradled and cushioned his hips, and she could feel his length desperate to tear through his coverings and penetrate her in every way possible. The idea almost had Valerie's regions weeping with want. A blush burned her cheeks at how utterly unlike her this was, but she couldn't find it in her to tear her thoughts away._

 _Shendu's arm wound around her and held her securely in place. His claws brushed against the edge of her black robe and wormed its way inside. Valerie gasped when she felt his sharp claws graze her nipple. And then, he'd taken the flesh to fill his palm. He squeezed and massaged her, and Valerie gasped and arched into his touch. One arm whipped up and curled around behind his horns to grasp the back of his neck. She gripped and scratched at him to display to him her pleasure. Shendu growled his approval into her neck when her nails dug in particularly hard. His teeth nibbled at her flesh, and his tongue lapped her continuously._

 _His other hand slid down her belly, his rough palm making her very aware of where he was. With agonising slowness, he went lower and lower, and her pulse climbed higher and higher. As he drew near, her legs opened for him automatically, begging him to touch her. His finger traced the curls he found at the juncture between her legs. A claw almost accidentally (though she was sure it was purposefully) flicked her clit. Valerie surged, her hips bucking with demand. Shendu chuckled beside her ear and she wanted to yell at him and beg him at the same time. He touched her there again, his finger encircling her, fondling her, stroking her, all whilst his other hand still played at her breasts. Valerie was a heaving mess within moments. God, it had been so long since she'd had any kind of lover, but she'd never been touched like this! It was maddening, it was damning, but it was sooooooo good!_

 _She tilted her hips, urging him on. His name left her lips on a whisper. Yet still Shendu moved with precise slowness, so slow she was near dancing on the spot with anticipation. His finger traced a path down her slit and paused at her entrance. Valerie dared not move in case it was possible she would scare him off. For half a second, she felt frightened again, panicked that this was too much, too fast. But her body betrayed her with its burning need. Her breaths were laboured, her legs were trembling, her thighs were coated in her own juices. And then, again with that same maddening slowness, Shendu slipped a single finger inside of her._

 _Valerie felt her mouth drop and mewled. Her body almost came undone just from the feel of any part of him inside her. He almost went in all the way, and then just as quickly began to withdraw. Valerie whimpered and shamelessly begged. Shendu rewarded her by driving the digit back inside of her. Unable to take it, she began to move her own body in time with his miniature thrusts. She couldn't take this at such a slow pace. Perhaps she was a deviant, maybe she was sick in the head. But she wanted her climax hard and fast – she knew what came after the foreplay, and as much as this was heavenly even as it was frightening, a part of her wanted what came next just as badly. And she wanted it rough and hard if it meant she would come as forceful as this bomb inside of her was threatening to be._

 _Shendu purred louder each time she came down on his finger, each time she moaned and groaned and panted in her hurry to find that release. His hand at her breast twisted her nipple and she surged against him again. God, she was almost there! But infuriatingly, his hand left her breast and instead turned her head so that he could look her straight in the eye._

 _"_ _Look at me, Valerie…" his voice was husky and rough to her ears. "I want you to look at me when you…"_

 _Heaven help her, she almost came right then and there – the way he stared at her, the way he was driving his finger into her, how her clit was burning against the rough hide on his palm! Her hand reached for his chin and pulled his face closer, so she could kiss him again – it was the only thing she could think of to muffle her scream as she –_

Valerie's eyes snapped open, her breath pounding out of her in ragged gasps as she jolted awake. She lay in the darkness, confused as she tried to remember where she was. The dream was still so fresh in her mind, for a moment it overplayed reality and she believed herself to still be on that bed of diamonds, in the chamber of mirrors.

Heat burned through her body, an aching urgent **want** that demanded she release the tidal wave that was poised and ready to crash all around her at the slightest touch. Her legs twitched, and she felt wetness from her desire. A blush scorched her cheeks, mortifying her that her dreams had such a powerful effect on her.

A deep rumble echoed at the back of her neck, she felt hot breath ruffle her hair. Startled, Valerie flinched. A huge arm draped over her waist tightened its hold around her in automatic response. It took her a moment to remember that Shendu had slept in the same bed as her. How they managed to get in this position, she didn't know, as they'd maintained a healthy distance when falling asleep. Now, she was laid on her side, Shendu's arm curled around her to pull her in against him, his fist curled on the sheets in front of her stomach, his nose buried in her hair. Valerie wiggled a little to try and get free, and then froze as she felt a rock-hard length propped up against her hip.

Urgently, she patted Shendu's hand. "Shendu. Shendu, wake up." He snorted, rumbling again. He grunted to signal he had heard her, but his words were unintelligible. Valerie tried to keep her face turned away from him so he wouldn't see how furiously she was blushing. "You, um, have a… err, situation."

"Hmm?" he grunted again, confused. Without turning, she pointed in the general direction of his hips. There was silence, as if he was registering what was the cause of her distress and trying to figure out the best response. Finally, he muttered: "Apologies," and went to turn away. But suddenly, he paused, and leaned back towards her. He pressed his nose to her neck, and Valerie tried very hard not to allow her heart-rate to jump or let her body respond as her mind conjured images of the dream. There was a predatory purr, as Shendu huskily whispered: "It seems you have a situation of your own…"

Valerie's blush deepened to an impossible degree, to the point where she thought she would spontaneously burst into flames. She scooted away from him until she was almost on the edge of the mattress. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," she could hear the grin in his voice. She pretended not to hear. "Fine. But I'll only say I have new-found appreciation for diamonds and mirrors."

Valerie leapt out of bed! She spun, heart pounding wildly as she ran to the furthest corner of the room, pressing her back against the wall. She stared at the dragon in the bed, wide eyed and fearful like a doe before the lion. Shendu watched her, alarmed and perplexed by her reaction.

It was impossible! It had to be! Her entire body trembled violently at the thought that even her most inner sanctum had been compromised. "It was a chamber of mirrors, wasn't it?" she whispered out shakily. "A velvet bed… covered in diamonds."

Shendu's eyes widened, his jaw fell open. "You and I…"

"How long?!" she demanded. Please let this be the only time, she prayed, please-please-please let it be only this once! "When was the first dream you had of me?"

"Not long after I was imprisoned in stone," he said. "I dreamed of you and when you touched me, I experienced a vision."

"Of blue eyes."

They'd been dreaming together this whole time. All those moments where Valerie had thought she'd been alone and safe inside her own brain, her own imagination, and he had actually been there. It was suddenly difficult to breathe as she descended into a panic attack.

In order to try and keep herself from tumbling into a complete mess, she attempted to speak, to understand. "H-How is this possible?!"

"When we were bonded," Shendu said slowly, as if he himself was trying to work this out. "Our minds, our souls, our Chi's were linked together. It's not that much of a leap to think we could dream as one as well."

"Oh God…" Valerie whispered, her knees suddenly weak.

Shendu got up from the bed, and tried to slowly advance towards her, his hands outreached as if to calm her. "Valerie? Don't you see? In the dreams you came to me so willingly, you returned my affections–"

"No!" she defensively snapped. He was getting too close, everything was piling on top of her, it was too much at once. Everything needed to slow down!

There was a sudden blast of heat that assaulted her, and Valerie shrank away as she looked up into Shendu's face and saw his eyes blaze with outrage. "I've been patient, Valerie," he growled out. "I've been good, I've waited, I've let you have time to come to these feelings on your own. But now, I've had enough! Why, even in the face of your own body's response to me, do you STILL deny your true feelings?"

"You want to know?!" she demanded, suddenly angry herself. She stood to her feet, glaring up at him, even as her knees knocked together. "You want to know WHY I don't want to feel these things? Why I refuse to let this go any further than what I thought was my own imagination?!"

"Yes! Why do you torture us both with these feeble excuses?"

"Because of what you did!" she roared. Shendu frowned, confused. Tears pricked Valerie's eyes. "You don't even know, do you? In the rewritten-reality, you lied to me. You wrote me to be your little wife, you made me your queen, and you lied to me! You enslaved my entire race and made me watch. I did nothing, I allowed it to continue because you made it so!"

"Valerie, I had no choice," Shendu pleaded. "The Book of Ages was my last resort, but it was the only option I had left. I needed my body back, my siblings needed out of the Nether-Realm."

"And that meant you had to enslave the entire planet?!"

"Would your planet have accepted us with open arms? Look at the way Chan behaves even when I offer to help defeat a mutual enemy."

"So that justifies your selfishness to string me along like a doll?"

"I did NOT change you, Valerie." He snapped. "Not one part of your personality. I could have written it so that we were already bonded, I could have consummated our love with you the moment we awoke in that reality – Heaven knows, I wanted to. But I didn't! Even at the alter, if you had but said the words, I would have stopped it all. I gave you the choice throughout. I wanted to make you happy, I wanted you to choose to love me! Can you tell me there was no part of you that was at least content?"

Valerie turned away, fingers digging into her temple to try and squash the thousand voices that echoed inside her own skull. Tears slipped past her lashes, as all the emotions she'd tried to bury for the past several months came crashing out of her in a tumble of words. "I… I _was_ happy. I remember just talking with you, laughing, just being _easy_ with you. Ever since you've come back, I can't get out of my head this want for your voice, when you would teach me magic and tell me how well I was doing! You believed in me."

"I loved you. I still do."

Her breath hitched higher, her heart skipped a beat. "And yet I can't forget what you did. All the horrible things you've done – or tried to do. If I forget, what kind of person does that make me?"

A feather-light touch pressed onto her shoulder. Gently, Shendu turned her around to look at him. His eyes captured hers, his face so close she could feel his breath wash over her. With one gentle thumb, he wiped away the tracks of tears. "Cast your judgements. It is only fair for you to do so. But do not deny what you feel."

"Even if I should?"

He didn't answer. He took a breath, then another, and asked: "Tell me, Valerie… When I touch you, when I kiss you, do you truly find me so abhorrent?"

It would be easier if she gave the answer that would hurt him the most. But she found she could only speak the truth. "No."

His gaze shifted for a fraction of a second to her lips, and then back to her eyes. "Valerie… will you allow me to kiss you, to prove it to us both?"

Like in the dream, Valerie's heart slammed against her ribs, her breathing threatened to hyperventilate. She was frightened of what she would find should she say 'yes'. But at the same time, that aching need inside her was gnawing at the core of her being. She stared at his lips, his teeth, and remembered the feel of them in the dream. Would they feel the same way here in the real world? Ever so slowly, mute in her shock, she nodded her head.

With delicate movements, Shendu's hand slid up her shoulder to cup the back of her neck. Slow and steady, his face bridged the gap to hers. Valerie found her eyes closing as he neared, and then felt the gentlest press against her lips. Shendu kissed her, slow and gentle. As he did, Valerie felt the tension eventually dissipate from her frame. That heat he always seemed to spark inside her returned, and she couldn't help the soft sigh that escaped her. He took the opportunity and opened her mouth with his so that his tongue could invade her. That spice, that unique taste that she'd gotten a taste of in her dreams bloomed along her real tongue. Valerie moaned, loudly, and Shendu purred back at her. Everything from the dream had been real, but here in the waking world, every sensation, every taste, every feeling was amplified and heightened until the kiss itself took on a life of its own.

It was their first kiss, and Valerie felt blown away as the same time she felt overwhelmed. That fire in her veins was pooling through her body once more. She reached up to touch Shendu's face, to somehow trust him as he tilted her head to deepen the kiss. His other arm came around her body and pulled her in close to him. As their bodies came flush against one another, the demon-sorcerer's desire became very apparent to her as she felt it growing against her lower body.

Valerie squeaked and quickly broke the kiss. She struggled for breath. She wasn't ready for that, she realised. Not yet. Despite what her dreams had foretold, despite what her body told her it wanted, for tonight, at least, this was enough. "I… I need some air,"

Shendu couldn't hide his disappointment fast enough. But at least he nodded and reluctantly released her from his grasp. Valerie thought she should say something, but no words came to mind. With a shaky breath, she walked past him, out of the apartment and headed for the stairs that would lead her up to the roof.

* * *

Drago perched on the edge of the office-building, the guttering he rested his foot on creaking a little under what weight he allowed it to bare. He watched the building on the opposite side of the street. An abandoned apartment building, all windows dark, no activity to be seen. It was the early hours of the morning, but still Drago thought he should've been able to see something in one of the windows. Perhaps they weren't here. But no, his blood tingled, and he felt another drop-in energy as the spell sucked it from him. The relative-locator-spell said his mother was here, so he had to assume his father was cloaking their presence somehow.

Upon arriving, Chan had gotten to work laying out a plan – much to Drago's annoyance. Drago was to go in alone to scout ahead, him being the only one who could magically mask his presence long enough that Shendu wouldn't notice him. Once he was sure Val was there, he would signal the others, and they'd swoop in to grab her. Drago supposed Chan thought he was tossing him a bone by giving him such a responsibility, but the way he ordered him around was not appreciated in the slightest. Drago didn't even know if he wanted to go through with this plan. He just wanted to see if his Mom was alright. If she had managed to conceive him, then yeah, the Chans could take her and imprison his father. Drago honestly didn't care about the old man, it would be one less competition and would serve his dad right for all the way he'd treated him in the past.

Or, future, technically.

"Hey, you doing okay there?" asked a voice quietly.

Drago glanced back and noticed Nat stood close to the edge, her red pony-tail whipping in the wind. "Yeah," he murmured, "Just thinking."

"What about?" she asked, leaning on the wall he was perched on.

"You really wanna know?"

"I asked, didn't I?"

He groaned. "Urgh, fine. It's my mom. Okay?"

"You don't wanna make sure she's okay?" Nat frowned.

"No– I mean, I do. I just… It's a little hard, you know? Going from your own time to the past, where your Mom doesn't really know you, hasn't even _had_ you yet… a time where she's not really your Mom…"

She seemed a little shocked at his confession, her lips forming a perfect 'O'. "I… didn't know you cared that much."

"Shows what you know about demons, doesn't it?"

Nat glanced glumly at the street far below. "Yeah, I'm getting that quite a lot these days…" her eyes shifted back to him. "You talked to her about it?"

"We've talked–"

"No, I mean like _really_ talked. Exchanging snippets when your both fighting on opposite sides doesn't count."

Drago was silent, guilt squirming in his heart. Heaven knows how much he'd wanted to just talk to his mother since he'd been here. It was all he wanted, to see her smile, to hear her praise him like she used to. But each time he thought about it, a little piece of him hurt inside. "I don't even know if there's much to say anymore."

"Why not? Valerie's still the same person as the future you left, right?"

"Not really," he said quietly. "I haven't seen my mother since I was ten years old."

Nat tried to hide her quick intake of breath, he knew she did, but she couldn't quite suppress it in time. "T-Ten?" she asked, disbelievingly. "How have you survived? No offence, but I don't think the foster system would know how to deal with you."

He snorted. "Well, seeing as my dad was locked up and didn't seem to wanna lift a talon to help me, my grandfather stepped in. He raised me, taught me, trained me, right up until I was seventeen. Then he brought me back to a father I barely knew, a dragon who'd only gotten colder and unforgiving in those seven years. And no matter what I did, nothing was good enough for him. Guess some things never change, huh?"

He hadn't even noticed his fists were clenched so hard, his claws were digging into his palms. But then, something touched him, light and smooth and cool. He flinched and glanced down to find Nat had reached over and put her hand over his. Disbelieving, his eyes shifted from her hand to her face. When had she gotten so close?

She smiled, and he found he couldn't take his eyes off the curve of her lips. "It's okay. Everybody's got at least one shitty family member."

He couldn't help his lips quirk in amusement.

All too quickly, Chan was signalling for them all to get in position. Drago didn't like the man to boss him around, especially when he dragged Nat off and away from him. With a growl to himself, Drago leapt from the rooftop to soar across the street. He landed deftly on the apartment-building's roof. There was one access door that would lead inside. He reached for it, but before his claws could close around the knob, it swung open.

"Drago?" Valerie stared at him, surprise written all over her face. She stepped further onto the roof, and Drago hastily backed up to give her room. She closed the door behind her, and somewhere in his mind, Drago was grateful both for the fact that she hadn't run into his arms begging for him to save her, and that she hadn't sounded the alarm. "What're you doing here?"

"I, I just…" seeing her look at him with those eyes, identical to the ones he knew. Just as he'd thought not a few minutes earlier, a small secret part of his heart was both hurt and jubilant to think he was talking with her. "It's the Chans, they wanted to find you, to rescue you. They needed my help. But I… I just wanted to see if you were okay. Are you? Okay, I mean?"

She didn't answer at first, and for a dreadful moment, Drago feared the worst. Dad or no dad, vital to his conception or not, if the old gecko had hurt his mother, he'd beat him to a pulp! But then, Valerie smiled proudly, and Drago felt his heart stop. "You're working with Jackie and the others to save me? Voluntarily?"

"Err, sure?" he shrugged.

Her smile turned into a beam. "That's really great, Drago. I mean it. I know Jackie can be prone to think the worst of demons and a bit thick headed about it–"

"You have NO idea."

"But I still think it's good that you're making the effort. That you're working with them, going on the good path. It might not seem like much – but I'm proud of you for that."

Drago didn't say anything, a little disquieted. On one hand his spirit soared to hear his mom say she was proud of him. On the other though, he felt like a liar as his thoughts went to the Ice Crew, out looking now for demon-chi and waiting for his signal to launch an attack if necessary.

"And I _am_ okay," he heard her say, "I didn't think I would be… but I am. You'd be surprised at how Shendu is–"

She made to touch him, perhaps to put her hand on his shoulder in a form of comfort or reassurance. But the moment her skin touched his scales, Drago's spine shot straight as he sucked in a huge breath. His eyes glazed over as an image forged itself in his mind's eye. He saw his mother holding a strange artefact dotted and crossed with lines like a star-map. From the artefact, came forth a beam of light that materialised into a great creature that seemed too large for the eye to see it all at once. Blue eyes shone down upon him with such a vengeful sorrowful fury that Drago shivered under such a hateful gaze. Great storms blew in at her will, volcanoes erupted, and the seas roared with her might. And in that moment, a name echoed through his mind…

"Tiamat," Drago gasped as he came back to himself. Valerie's eyes widened in shock. "That's what you're doing! You're looking for her – I saw it."

"You saw it?" she pressed urgently. "How? What does that mean?"

But Drago was no longer listening, his mind spinning to join the dots. "Of course – it all makes sense now. The demon-chi, the imbalance, the earthquakes, I get it now!"

"What are you talking about?"

"It's connected!" he declared in a eureka moment. "Tiamat controls all nature, the demon-chis are all facets of nature. But he who finds Tiamat could usurp her throne. Could gain control over all nature – the earth itself!"

The blood drained from Valerie's face, her shoulders drooping. "That's it… that was his plan all along…"

Before Drago could ask what she meant by that, they both heard a shout. "Valerie!"

They turned, just in time to see Jackie, Nat and Uncle climb onto the roof from the fire-escape. Drago growled. "I didn't give you guys the signal yet!"

"You were taking too long." Jackie retorted suspiciously. "How are we supposed to know things were going to plan?"

Drago bared his teeth, his temper finally cutting loose. "If you didn't want me doing this, why'd you volunteer me for the job?"

"Because I thought you could be trusted."

Valerie tried to step between them. "Stop fighting! You'll alert–"

But no one was listening to her. Drago pushed her out the way so he could loom into Jackie's face. "Maybe I can be, if you would just let me have a little breathing room!"

"How can I do that when you don't trust the team? When you always want to do things your way. Selfish to the end, just like your father."

Drago snarled. "You got a bone to pick, Chan?! Just say it, then! No more beating about the bush."

"Grow up and–"

There was a loud _squeeeeaaaaak_ as the door to the roof opened and out from the cramped staircase squeezed the form of Shendu. Drago felt his stomach drop with sudden anxiety. Even when his father was shrunk down to his smallest form of just over seven feet, he was still a hulk of a creature. "Valerie? I thought heard–"

Shendu stepped out and saw all the people spread over the roof. Everyone froze in place. There was a moment of suspended animation where no one dared to twitch, dared to breathe. Jackie was the first to break it. In a surge of movement, he grabbed hold of Valerie and went to run with her for the fire-escape.

The demon-sorcerer roared in rage and charged across the roof after them, growing in size with every step he took. Nat and Uncle stepped into his path. The wizard lifted his pufferfish and began his usual chant, Nat held up her katana and readied herself to meet his charge with one of her own. Shendu leapt up, curled both fists above his head and smashed them down onto the roof. The ground immediately cracked and crumpled. Two slabs jarring upwards under the two humans with such force, they were sent flying into the air.

"Red!" Drago shouted as she was sent head over heels in his direction. He leapt up to catch her, curling his arms around her body and absorbing her weight into himself with a grunt before landing the pair of them back down onto the roof. Across the way, Jackie had had to release Valerie in order to catch his screaming Uncle.

Taking the opportunity, Shendu snatched up Valerie into his hand. She kicked and squirmed, shouting at him words that no one could hear over the defiant roar that Shendu let loose. It was so loud, the windows across the street burst into a thousand shattered shards. Raising his free hand, Drago felt the moment when Shendu called upon the awe-inspiring power of the Other bond. The fabric of the universe itself responded to his will, and as he slammed his hand down onto the ground, a pulse was sent out that hit the four companions and filled their eyes with white-light.

When the glow faded, Shendu and Valerie were gone.

* * *

Valerie didn't know where they materialised next, nothing was recognisable to her, except for the fact she had an inkling they were still in the city. As soon as the cells of her body rearranged themselves fully, she continued her kicking and shouting.

"Put me down!" she snarled. "Do you hear me?! I said put me down!"

He did, roughly letting her go so that she stumbled to regain her balance. As soon as she had it, she spun to glare up into his scowling face.

"Is it true?" she demanded. "Drago told me that he who finds Tiamat will usurp her and take control over all nature and the earth. Is it true!?"

Shendu's stare was cold and unyielding as he stood tall over her, crossing his arms over his huge chest, lip curled to reveal a hint of his teeth. Once, Valerie might've been terrified of the subtle show of his growing anger. Now, it only made her more pissed.

Eventually, he said at length: "There WAS a rumour that Tiamat's true heir would be revealed should they find her. And it would make sense that her place in the cosmos COULD be taken over by another."

Valerie felt like she could spit. "And to think, I was THIS close to…" she sighed, there was no point in saying the words. "And I had to learn about this from Drago, not you."

"Of course you would hear it from him," he huffed. "That would be the boy's end goal, after all."

"What do you mean?"

"All the eight powers of me and my demon brethren are linked to the forces Tiamat herself governs. Once all eight are combined, nothing will be able to remove them – they will fuse together to create a being of similar stature as Tiamat. Should Drago do that, he will challenge her, and a real fight between two beings like that… will destroy this world."

Valerie sucked in a breath. "No. You don't know that. You don't know Drago will do that!"

"And you know otherwise?" he snorted disdainfully. "You've been trying to deny all affiliation with him – and me – up until now."

"And from the looks of it, I was the better parent in this equation! All you've done is push him away!" Valerie shouted back, hurt by the truth in his words.

"The boy left me to rot, I won't be bouncing him on my knee for that. And whatever grievances he has, he has carried them across time. The boy is bitter, from what, I don't know, but he's clearly here to prove something. And I'd say using the demon-chi to take over this world is a good way to start."

She didn't want to believe that, Valerie realised. She wanted to believe that a part of Drago could still turn to the side of good, like with how she'd seen him tonight. "At least he tells me the whole truth," she said in a quiet voice filled with spite as tears pricked her eyes. "Which is something I can't say for you."

The huge dragon sighed. "Valerie–"

She held up a hand to silence him, lips pressed into a hard line. "You know what, Shendu? Just **_once_** , I'd like you to tell me the entire truth. But you can't do that, can you? Not even if it means keeping me."


	19. You Shall Go To The Ball

**Author's Note: There are two music ques in this chapter towards the end. Ray Charles: "I can't Stop Loving You" which was requested by** **Light Seeker 001 in a review of 'Ultimate Evil'. The other is Brenda Lee: "Losing You", a scene which I've had in my head for almost two years and been very much looking forward to.**

 **Big thanks to ilovedracoDH for being a great BETA.**

* * *

You Shall Go To The Ball

* * *

Shendu and Valerie managed to find a run-down motel to stay in for the night. Shendu only had to put on his spell of concealment and drop a wad of cash for the receptionist, and they had a room. Needless to say, Valerie wasn't in the mood to volunteer her bed again, and thankfully her dreams were empty.

The following day, there was an awkwardness between her and Shendu. Almost as if the pair of them were giving each other the silent treatment. It was a tension that was thick in the air between them and refused to be broken. Yet there was almost this earnestness. Valerie felt the urge on multiple occasions to try and speak to Shendu, to try and see the logic here. But nothing ever came to mind on what she _should_ say. At some point during the day, Shendu had vanished in order to retrieve some of their things from their old hideout. Jackie and the others hadn't thought to go looking through the apartment building, apparently. Looking at the box that contained her dress, Valerie wondered how she would go through with this now. Only twelve hours ago she had been so excited for tonight, but now? She didn't know what to think.

Eventually, the time for the gala came. Though not saying a word, Shendu left no room for argument that the pair of them would be going to the museum. Together. Valerie hid herself away in the bathroom to make herself presentable. A few items of makeup had also been bought at the store the previous night and a fancy clip for her hair. The dress was so smooth against her skin, it was like running water, yet she felt almost suffocated by its embrace. She swept her hair over one shoulder and pinned it in place with a large fake-diamond clip just behind one ear. Black eye shadow hinted on her eyelids to give them a smoky look and make the blue of her eyes stand out. The last thing to go on was the red lipstick. As she stared at her reflection in the mirror, Valerie could almost hear her mother's voice telling her she'd never looked more beautiful. Yet the woman gazing back at her just looked sad.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she noticed Shendu still hadn't changed form. As she came out, his red eyes fixed onto her… and he paused. Slowly, his gaze travelled up from her feet to her hair. He took in the deep midnight-blue gown, sequins dotted all over so that it glittered prettily with every angle of light. The neckline was cut low, the sleeves off the shoulders to hug her upper arms. Under his scrutiny, Valerie felt the need to avert her eyes in embarrassment.

"Best I could do," she murmured, fingers touching her hair, thinking it scraggily where she had no tools to do anything with it. "I-I thought to curl it but…"

Without a word, Shendu strode forward and gently twirled her hair around one talon. Valerie held her breath, making sure not to move. She suddenly felt a slight heat, could smell it so close to her face. And then, it was gone just as quickly, and Shendu pulled his finger away, her hair perfectly curled in a twisting spiral. Valerie stared at it, touched it gingerly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

In a flash of heat, Shendu was suddenly in his spell of concealment. His human face was just as perfect as before, his imposing stature still physically impressive. He wore a black tux with a high collar, a handkerchief in his breast pocket the same shade of blue as her dress. A horn blared shortly outside, and they knew their cab had arrived.

On the journey to the museum, Shendu had the window to the driver's cabin closed for privacy, but he needn't have bothered. The pair of them sat in complete silence. Valerie watched the streetlights pass in a blur out the window, her breath fogging the glass. Her fingers tapped her knee, the urge to say something, anything, right on the tip of her tongue.

Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. With a growl of frustration under her breath, she finally glanced towards the demon-in-human-skin sat beside her. "So, what happens after tonight?"

Shendu didn't answer right away. He twirled a finger in a circular motion and chanted under his breath. Valerie felt her ears pop, and abruptly felt as if she were inside a bubble. A spell so no one would hear them? Only once it was done did Shendu speak to her. "That will depend on the results of tonight."

"And what does that mean?" she asked tightly. "That we head out to war straight away, or something else?"

"What answer are you looking for, Valerie?"

"I want to know what this mission actually means to you, Shendu," she turned to watch him, but he was gazing out of the window, his expression unreadable. "Why do you really want to find Tiamat? Is it to eliminate competition? Or is it for more power?"

Silence. At first, Valerie felt stung by his refusal to answer. She'd given him an opportunity to be honest with her. To clear the air so at least she knew where she stood. Shendu looked down at his lap, and slowly, his hand went to his pocket and retrieved a little box. On the front was the logo of the shop they'd visited last night. Cautiously, as if he feared she would slap it away, he held out the box to her. He pressed on the seal, and the box popped open.

Valerie's breath caught in her throat. Inside the box lay two rings. Both of them were simple in design but exquisitely beautiful at the same time. The larger ring was merely a gold band, but the smaller one, had a tiny diamond set in the centre. The pair of them shone brightly in the dim light, looking as if they were the perfect match. Shendu took the larger ring and slipped it on. When he carefully took out the smaller one, Valerie felt her heart skip a beat. Without even realising what she was doing, she held out to him her left hand. Gentleness in his every touch, he took hold of her skin, and slipped the ring onto her third finger. A perfect fit.

"If we are to be posing as husband and wife," he said in such a quiet tone that Valerie barely heard him. "Then we should have something to show for it. To make the ruse complete."

He released her. Valerie drew her hand back to herself and studied the way the ring looked on her finger. Never in her life had she thought that any ring would sit there. Most little girls dreamed of being married, they imagined everything from the wedding dress to what exact shape of diamond would sit in their ring. Valerie had never done so, it had just never seemed important to her. But to now see a wedding ring sit there… it was an otherworldly experience she couldn't even try to describe.

She was drawn out of her musings when Shendu spoke in the smallest voice she had ever heard from him. "When my mother lost her first mate… the pain, the loneliness she suddenly felt, it drove her almost mad. She was angry at humanity, angry at the world for taking away that which she loved with all her heart. When my father found her, he offered her a way to make the pain stop, for her to have her revenge. She agreed but she was loath to do so."

Valerie watched him, transfixed. He sat there in a human form that looked perfect from every angle, handsome enough to be a movie-star. And yet, Valerie had never seen him look so tired, so _old_. He appeared as if the truth of his own words were a heavy weight on his shoulders, making them slump until he appeared to be half the man he should've been. Still, he would not look her way. And Valerie found herself _wanting_ to see his eyes, to know if this truth truly hurt him as his posture told her it did.

"My mother was forced to carry me and my siblings in her womb, one by one. And she brought us into the world in a fit of anguish. I don't know if she expected Typhon to help her with the brood he had promised would bring her all the vengeance she sought. In any case, he vanished after we were all born. Mother said his form could no longer hold him together, and he died. Alone she was left with us, eight pieces of evidence of her grief and violation. She made us for one purpose, and one purpose alone: to destroy. And that was what we did. She was our mother, we revered and feared her. When she sent us out into the world to destroy her enemies, we did that and more. We relished in being able to unleash our full potential, in bringing our mother what she desired. And yet… she abandoned us. Gone. Never to be seen again. You speak of me treating Drago less than favourably. But what am I supposed to show him when my own mother took that away from me."

A sting hit the back of Valerie's eyes and she willed herself not to shed a tear. To try and keep it together. But she was not heartless. Without knowing if she should do anything else, the woman reached across and grasped the hand of the man beside her.

"I have never known what you mortals call ' _love_ '. I never knew why my mother did what she did." He said quietly. Finally, he turned and let her meet his eyes. Such a raw depth was laid bare for her, Valerie had no doubt that for the first time, she knew without a doubt he spoke the absolute truth. "Though I will admit this is a rare case for me; in this instance, I do not desire power, Valerie. I just want answers."

Valerie realised that she was staring but couldn't help herself. Words failed her. It felt like she was seeing Shendu in a new light. Gone was the domineering demon and cruel tyrant. Instead, she saw a lost and confused man, pining for the mother that never loved him. Pity welled up in her heart, and she gave his fingers a squeeze. So perhaps it wasn't about becoming Tiamat's heir, Valerie wasn't certain. But what she _was_ certain of, was that this opportunity meant far more to Shendu than what she had initially thought.

Her words from the previous night came back to haunt her. And she realised that he'd just defied her declaration. He had just told her the raw truth, despite the fact that it had made him vulnerable in the process. As the cab pulled up outside the museum, Valerie saw a moderate number of reporters outside the front doors. Shendu's words echoed around inside her heart, and she suddenly didn't know where exactly this left her how to feel.

* * *

Closing the door on Jade's room, Jackie tried to bury the worried knot in the pit of his stomach. The in-house Section 13 doctor had only just left, and his report on the little girl was troubling. She was suffering a terrible fever, and her sugar levels were low. The girl looked as if she had caught the worst flu in the history of human civilisation, but despite that, the Doctor couldn't tell Jackie outright what the exact cause of this affliction was. He'd taken some blood samples, and hopefully, they'd have the results by tomorrow. Uncle was also busy at the shop, attempting to put together a potion to help Jade feel better, whilst also doing his own research on the cause of the affliction.

Rubbing his tired face, Jackie just added it to the long list of things for him to worry about. After the disastrous attempt to rescue Valerie yesterday, Jackie had been pulling his hair out with worry. They'd been _this close_ , damnit! He wasn't altogether unsure it wasn't the half-demon's fault they'd failed. But he had no proof, and even he felt like he and Drago needed a breather from each other. So, he'd come home, and naïvely said that nothing could get any worse…. And then little Jade had stumbled out of her room, looking so bad he had honestly thought to call an ambulance.

Coming into his living room, he sat on the couch beside Tohru, who was flicking through the channels of his TV distractedly. The big sumo had been here since last night, also fraught with worry. Jackie honestly didn't know how he would ever thank Tohru for his selfless devotion towards his niece. It was almost too hard to imagine the huge man being their enemy once-upon-a-time. The two shared a sad look before glancing back at the television. Jackie had thought Jade's troubles were behind her when the business with Tarakudo was finished. Why did things always have to happen to those he loved?

Tohru flicked onto a news station, and the anchor-man switched to a reporter stood outside the San Fran museum. Jackie half remembered the manager at the Museum calling him a few weeks ago about some grand opening gala for a new exhibit and inviting him along. He'd refused – you know, saving the world from demons and all.

The reporter told her camera man to pan around so that they could get a good look at all the well-dressed guests arriving for the gala. As it showed them the red carpet rolled perfectly down the museum steps, it spotted a woman climb out of a cab, her blonde hair and blue eyes flashing momentarily in the camera's direction. Even as Jackie felt a bolt of recognition blast through him, Tohru changed the channel.

"No-no! Wait! Go back!" Jackie shouted, leaping out of his seat. Tohru, startled, fumbled with the remote before doing as he was told. Jackie knelt right in front of the TV, eyes straining as he searched the crowd in the news report for that familiar face.

There! He saw her! Dressed in a stunning dark-blue silk gown, her hair pinned over her shoulder, her face prettily accentuated with makeup, was Valerie. Jackie almost didn't recognise her at first. She looked so different, like Cinderella discarding her rags for her glass-slippers. Beside her, her arm looped through his elbow, was an incredibly tall and muscular Asian man. His black hair was spiked back, his moustache and goatee striking on his pointing face. When he turned in just the right way that the camera caught his eyes, his eyes briefly flashed red. Any other human being would think it was a trick of the camera work, the same way red-eyes appeared in certain photos. But Jackie knew better, he knew it in his gut.

Shendu.

Jackie was already jumping up and sprinting out the door. "Captain Black! Captain Black!" Suddenly he stopped, blinking stupidly as a thought occurred to him. Heels squeaking on the tiled floor, he ran back to his room. Poking his head around the doorframe, he pointed to Tohru. "Watch Jade!" And then, he ran off again, shouting the whole way: "Captain Black! _Captain Black!"_

* * *

Strings of lights looped through the rafters of the domed ceiling of the museum. Fairy lights hung from the walls, and combined with the crystal chandeliers, it created for a breath-taking atmosphere. Valerie found herself gawking as she saw how the museum had been decorated, and how servers were flittering about, carrying trays of finger-food and glasses of wine and champagne. In the corner were live musicians and a singer, all dressed like a jazz band. ' _Unchained Melody_ ' was the song they played as everyone walked into the huge hall.

So many people were dressed smartly, women in the fanciest and richest looking dresses she'd ever seen. Older business men exuding money and confidence from every pour. Valerie felt plain, out of place, and overwhelmed by comparison. But even as she felt the urge to wilt, she felt Shendu place his hand atop hers resting on his forearm and gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at his tall and broad human form. He was easily not only the handsomest man here, but also the most physically imposing. Not even the heavily built guards at the front doors could hope to compare with him. And he was here with her, at her side, telling her everything was okay. Suddenly, she felt a little surer of herself and walked tall.

Once all the guests had finally arrived, it was time for the proceedings to go ahead. Attention was asked for when the Museum manager welcomed everyone before announcing Hepburn and Stanton. The two archaeologists made the typical speeches of telling everyone their tale of how they discovered their latest artefact, thanking certain noteworthy supportive individuals, and then thanking everyone for being here tonight. The speech dragged on and on, and Valerie could feel Shendu starting to get impatient at her side. She squeezed his elbow gently, trying to silently convey patience.

When everything was done and the party commenced, things became a bit livelier. However, if Shendu had hoped to steal away for their mission objective so soon, he was quickly disappointed. Hepburn and Stanton, both dressed in identical suits, hurried over to them immediately and grabbed Shendu's hand to shake it.

"Ah! Mr Stone!" Hepburn cried out jovially. "We're honoured you and your wife could make it this evening!"

Valerie waited for either Hepburn or Stanton to turn to her and greet her directly. But neither did, they only had eyes for Shendu. Though quick to disengage their touch, Shendu's voice was still smooth when he spoke. "We would've been fools to have missed it."

"Ah, excellent!" Hepburn and Stanton both nodded enthusiastically. "Say, we have a few people you really must meet!"

Over the course of the next two hours, Valerie and Shendu were paraded around in front of all kinds of people. Businessmen, museum investors, private collectors, rich historical enthusiasts, even some well-known people in the city, such as the head of the SFPD, or the governor. Throughout, they had to listen to people boringly drone on in pointless chit-chat. And Valerie had to put up with being ignored. Shendu was envied by the men he spoke with, and women openly drooled over him. Yet the whole time, Valerie was treated at best as if she were a mute who had no opinion on anything; at worst, it was as if she were not there at all. At first, she was angry, that she would be so dismissed. But to Shendu's credit, it wasn't his fault that this transgression occurred. In fact, he tried a few times to draw her into the conversations or tried to ask her if it was time for them to be somewhere else so that they might escape an extremely boring conversation. But every time Valerie tried to speak, she was spoken over, or treated as if she were a child who didn't know what she was talking about. As the clock ticked on, both demon and woman began to visibly show their irritation with the whole ordeal.

Finally, Hepburn dragged them over to the final important guest. The Mayor. A short, round, balding man in his seventies with a bushy moustache and red cheeks. He'd just been re-elected, by only the skin of his teeth, if Valerie remembered right. On his arm was a woman just under thirty, her skin tanned as if she'd spent the past month on a beach in Spain. Her ebony hair was styled in a way so that her half-fringe could cover one eye and leave the other smouldering like some cartoon-character. Her green gown was so tight, it pushed her enormous round breasts up until they were almost popping over the top. She was clearly not the Mayor's wife – Valerie had seen the elderly woman on the television enough times. So, this must be his mistress, which he was doing a very poor job of hiding. Hepburn introduced the Mayor, and the woman he said was Candy, the Mayor's _assistant_. The archaeologist had only just finished reciting the tale of Shendu defeating the thieves last night (for the dozenth time), when he was suddenly called away by his partner, leaving Shendu and Valerie at the mercy of the harlot who was making no secret of the fact that she was staring hungrily at Shendu.

"I must admit, Mr Stone," said the Mayor, "I can't imagine how you worked up the courage to face down armed thieves by yourself,"

"You could say I've always had a bit of a _fiery_ temper," Shendu said with a sideways glance at Valerie. He'd just started doing this: in his boredom at the repetitive conversations, he'd begun making comments that alluded to his true nature, but only Valerie would pick up on them. "Perhaps I was built for it,"

"I'll say…" purred Candy, trailing a long fake fingernail across her big Botox-injected lips. Valerie bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming at the woman for being too obvious.

"I bet it was frightening for your poor wife," continued the Mayor, bushy brows upturned with concern. "I must say my dear, you are looking lovely tonight."

Valerie was so surprised at being personally spoken to for the first time in twenty minutes, she floundered for a moment on how to respond. "Oh, um, thank you, Mr Mayor."

Candy looked as if she'd just sucked on a sour grape. Stepping forward, she reached to brush imaginary lint off Shendu's suit, completely ignoring Valerie's presence by his side. "Say, how did the two of you meet? Forgive me, Mr Stone, but a man like you… I cannot imagine how such a dark and brooding individual manages to pick a woman – you must have them lining up! What drives a man like you to settle down?"

"Well," Shendu reached up and took hold of Candy's wrist, his huge hand dwarfing hers easily. With no force required, he set her back a step. "Valerie and I… we didn't meet under the best of circumstances. I was not of a stable mind. But I appreciated her passion for history, her reverence for a time long since passed. Not to mention her fiery spirit," His eyes slid to hers and Valerie felt a blush on her cheeks. Shendu's arm snaked around her waist and pulled her in close to his side. "I'm quite sure Valerie has had to put up with quite a few unimpressive traits from me. Isn't that right, dear?"

"More than you know, _honey,_ " she said through a strained smile. Noticing the pout on Candy's face, Valerie suddenly gave in to her bitchy-side and wrapped her arms around Shendu's broad shoulders. "But I couldn't imagine life without him, now."

"Still, I would've thought you'd be home," Candy said tightly. Trying to regain her composure, she smiled sweetly, her voice condescending as she leaned closer to Valerie. "I'm sure you find all this historical stuff terribly dull. And all these people… I'm sure it's so hard when you don't fit in. Your husband didn't have to drag you out tonight. We could've kept him company."

There was suddenly a loud roar in Valerie's ears, a heat burning underneath her skin. She wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, she wanted to slap this harlot for daring to speak to her in such a way. All night, she'd been ignored, diminished, treated as if she were a dumb blonde bimbo. As if she had no right to be here other than as Shendu's _thing_. And now this woman tried flirting with him _in front of her_ , tried to insinuate that she was somehow beneath notice, that she wasn't worthy. Valerie honestly wanted to scream!

"Actually," came Shendu's voice, cold and pointed, even if there was a smirk on his lips. "It was Valerie who brought us here. _She_ is the one with the expertise in historical artefacts. Did she mention she recently graduated her three-year degree in history? Top of your class. Right, Valerie?"

"Yes," Valerie mumbled, stunned that he had somehow diffused the raging storm inside her, and that also seemed to have known about her recent graduation. He even sounded proud when he spoke of her accomplishments, as if what she'd done was the greatest achievement in the world. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Yes, that's right."

"You see, that's the trick, Mr Mayor." Shendu said to the fat man that had barely been able to keep up with the spoken-conversation, let alone the hidden meanings behind every phrase. But now, Shendu bluntly let him have it, whilst also casting a sneering glare at Candy every now and then. "Most women of _our class_ I've met are airheaded imbeciles that would rather gawk at a mirror or the cash in your wallet, than engage in decent conversation. What I look for in a woman, is a brain that can contend with me the whole way, who engages and challenges me, who shows bravery and heart far beyond what she might appear to possess. And Valerie? She has all that in spades and plenty to spare."

With Candy looking as if ready to burst into mortified tears and the Mayor flabbergasted, Shendu gave them one last curt nod, before looping Valerie's hand back through his arm, and leading her away. Valerie was still trying to process what had just happened. Her heart felt like it was melting just a little bit as she went over the compliments he'd given her. Did he really think so highly of her?

Even though she was smiling to herself, she felt the need to quietly admonish: "That probably wasn't a good idea to insult the Mayor's mistress to her face."

"Perhaps," he purred, leaning his head down to hers so that his nose was in her hair, his mouth just above her ear. "But didn't it feel good to put that pathetic wench in her place?"

Her smile grew wider. "… a little."

With no one else having eyes on them, the pair of them slowly, sneakily, made their way further and further towards the back of the party. Once they were sure no one was watching, they made a break for it. Sticking to the shadows, the pair of them snuck through the corridors towards the exhibit. Later, towards the end of the gala, the guests would be brought along here to see the artefact for themselves. But Shendu and Valerie needed to get in there before there would be too many eyes on it.

Finally, they found themselves at the exhibit, their footsteps echoing around the empty room. Lit up in preparation for later, was the artefact, glinting brilliant gold on its red-cushion, the star map fascinating to Valerie with its interesting patterns. The glass box had been removed for the sake of tonight's elite guests and their viewing pleasure. As he approached it, Shendu's frame became rigid, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights. Valerie kept glancing over her shoulder to be sure no one was coming whilst he had his little moment.

Worry began to gnaw at her when minutes began to tick by and still Shendu hadn't moved. He was frozen at the edge of the display, hand half reached out towards it but never touching it. His words from back in the cab returned to her mind, and she understood why this moment seemed to matter so much to him. He just wanted answers, to wonder why he was created, and why he was left unloved. And here was seemingly the answer to his wish, his mother would be within reach for the first time in millennia, and she could imagine how daunting that prospect must be. Valerie wanted to give him the time he needed to get through this, but she was also painfully aware that anyone could catch them at any moment.

"Okay, now what?" Valerie prompted. Her voice seemed too loud in the eerily quiet room. It snapped Shendu out of whatever he'd been lost in. "Is it like the Pan'ku box? Do we activate it somehow?"

"I don't know," he murmured. He reached out and ran his hand across the surface of the artefact. An electrical hum rumbled faintly in the air, as Shendu used his magic to scan it. "I cannot feel any magical signature from it…"

So, that meant it wasn't a magical object, Valerie realised, or at least, perhaps it was not something so obvious. Gently, Shendu picked it up, and inspected the artefact from every angle of light. He ran his fingers across the dotted lines of the star map, attempting to find a catch or secret switch. Peering over his shoulder, Valerie attempted to try and work out if there was some kind of clue on the artefact itself. But there was no ancient script, no instructions written in a dead language. Instead, there were only southern hemisphere star charts. As more time slipped by, Shendu did his best to try and puzzle out the artefact. The longer it took, the more his frustration and desperation became evident.

Eventually, he thrust it into Valerie's hands with a growl. She herself attempted to work out what she was meant to do, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't seem to find an answer. Her stomach tied itself in knots with anxiety as she peered at Shendu, who was rigid, breathing like a bull, trying to contain obvious rage. In a small voice she tried to say: "Maybe it's another puzzle or…"

"Or maybe it's nothing. And it was nothing all along."

She winced at his harsh, grating voice. "Look, don't give up hope just yet. Maybe…"

"Maybe what?" he snapped icily. "If neither of us can make it work, what good is it for?"

"The Guardian said it was the key–"

"And perhaps the Guardian was lying to us, forcing us off Tiamat's trail." At his sides, his hands were clenched so tightly, they were shaking. He snorted in bitterness. "For a moment, I thought my mother might've left a clue for me to follow. That she might've cared. And if _she_ could, then maybe… Shows how wrong I was."

And then, suddenly, he lashed out, his arm smashing into the podium beside the exhibit. Valerie shrieked as it went sailing across the room. Shendu snarled and kicked out an information desk, snapping it in two easily. Valerie watched in horror as he went on his rampage, trying to destroy everything in sight. Someone was going to hear this, she realised. Putting the artefact back on its altar, she jogged as fast as her heels would allow her to Shendu's side. His jacket looked as if it were nearly straining to contain his heaving form as he continued to strike out at anything within reach.

"Shendu, stop–!"

When her fingers brushed his sleeve, Shendu whirled on her. He did not touch her, not once. But she was startled so much, as she tried to hurriedly back up, her heel caught in her dress and she tumbled to the floor. Beauty stared up at the Beast. The snarl on his twisted lips, the way his eyes glowed completely red, the way his hulking body looked monstrous and ready to tear open anything and everything – it frightened her. Valerie realised it had been a long time since Shendu had _actually_ frightened her. Something in her face must've showed it, for Shendu stood frozen, his anger slowly deflating until he was looking down on her with human eyes again. The expression on his face seemed moved, as if something terrible had just occurred to him. He glanced down at his huge hands and then back up at Valerie.

Without a word to her, he turned and stormed out of the room.

Valerie stared at where he'd just gone, slowly picking herself up off the floor. Her brain was having trouble processing what had just happened and what she should do now. Go after him? Leave him to cool off? His face had looked so dejected just before he left. Did he think he hurt her? She had to tell him that was untrue. But as she finally got her wits about her enough to go after him, a being formed out of the shadows.

Shrieking in fright, Valerie tried to back away. Was it the Shadowkhan again?! Quickly, she tried to summon her magic, to blast the shadow back to oblivion. But warm hands suddenly seized her arms, and a familiar face grinned down at her.

"Jackie?!" she gaped at him. Yes, the kung-fu archaeologist himself stood before her, dressed in the plainest suit known to man. As her mind struggled to catch up with this sudden turn of events, she stuttered: "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you," he exclaimed, and pulled her off her feet into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're alright. I feared the worst after last night, and everything else–"

"Everything else? What do you mean?"

Jackie's face fell, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Well, it's Jade, she's sick. _Really_ sick."

Heart hammering with worry, Valerie seized hold of Jackie's shoulders in an attempt to grab his attention. "What?! Is she alright? What's wrong with her?"

"Doctor's are taking samples and–" Jackie stopped and shook his head to refocus himself. "No! That's not why I'm here! Valerie, I need your help."

"My help?"

"To catch Shendu!"

Like a fish, Valerie's mouth hung open. She froze up, unsure of what to do. How could she explain to Jackie why she was with Shendu, what they were doing? Would he believe her? Knowing how much he distrusted demons, it was likely he wouldn't. Just getting him to accept Shendu's help for the sake of defeating a common enemy had been impossible. Convincing him to let Shendu roam free to sort out his mommy issues? Absolutely not! And what would he think of her? Would he see her as a traitor for teaming up with Shendu? She desperately didn't want to appear guilty to Jackie, didn't want him to think she'd turned to the dark-side as the Future-Jade had predicted. But after everything she'd learned she couldn't just turn on Shendu either. How was she to stop this situation from degrading?

The truth was… she didn't know.

"J-Jackie, I–I don't understand."

Jackie seemed to take her hesitancy for fear. "I know, it's a lot to ask. But Section 13 agents are surrounding the building, Captain Black's just waiting for a signal, and then he'll clear out the other guests – tell them there's a terrorist threat or something. Uncle is preparing his spell that will return Shendu to stone. We can stop him Valerie – whatever he's doing, we'll stop it, tonight. All we need you to do is distract him long enough until we're ready."

"B-But I… I don't think that's–"

His brow furrowed, a spark of doubt entering his eyes. "You do want him back in the vault, right?"

"M-Maybe," she floundered, trying to think of a good way to get Jackie to slow down long enough to listen. "I-I don't know–"

"We can do this, Valerie," Jackie whispered to her. " _You_ can do this! I believe in you!"

And just like that, he turned around and sprinted back down the hall, probably to convey her acceptance of the plan to the others. Valerie watched him go. A part of her wanted to shout after him, another part wanted her to just duck her head and be good. Damnit, why was this all so confusing?! How could she play both sides like this? The answer was simple: she was a coward. The thought was disheartening but she couldn't deny it. She was afraid of throwing away her connection to the Chans, because she didn't want to fulfil the prophecy that would lead to her being the dark version of herself that Future-Jade had hinted at. And she didn't want to completely turn on Shendu because she knew in her heart that it was wrong, that she would regret it, that he didn't deserve imprisonment just for wanting answers.

And now, because of her indecision, she was truly stuck. What was she going to do?

Aimlessly, she wandered back towards the party. A small voice whispered she should run; flee and hide from having to make this big decision. No, she told herself. She'd already been a coward tonight. She wouldn't be a further disgrace by running. This was her demon to face – both metaphorically and literally.

Whether it was because she was looking for him, or by chance, she didn't know. But in either case, her eyes very quickly picked Shendu out of the crowd. He was leaning against the wall tucked out of sight, jacket unbuttoned, a bottle of whiskey in his hand that he chugged from easily. Valerie wasn't sure what poor waiter he had stolen that from. The dancefloor was between him and her. At that moment, couples began to slow-dance as the band switched to a new song.

_ _Ray Charles 'I Can't Stop Loving You'_ _

He'd already spotted her, of course he had. As Valerie made her way through the dancing couples towards him, his gaze never once left her. She came to stand beside him, and he did not acknowledge her, just kept swigging from the bottle. Though he tried desperately to hide it, Valerie could see the pain in his face; he was genuinely disappointed. The bitterness was palpable, even if tried to act aloof as he took another long swig.

"Can you even get drunk on human booze?" Valerie found herself quietly asking.

"No. Human liquor is not strong enough. Being a demon of fire, I quite literally burn it off before it has a chance to soak in." His voice was cool. He held up the bottle as if to study the dark liquid inside through the light. "But it's nice to dream that if I drink enough, I might be able to just feel a tiny bit dizzy, at least."

"Shendu, there's no need to be like this," she sighed and stretched across him to put her hand on his wrist. He looked almost startled to see her touch him. "We reached one dead end, that doesn't mean we give up."

"What's the point? My mother made it clear when she hid herself away that she cared not for her children or anyone else, and that she did not want to be found." His eyes turned a deeper red, his lip curling. "Maybe I should've planned to usurp her all along, make it just about power. At least then I would have the drive to carry on, not feel this… _pathetic_ crushing sensation in my gut. What is it?"

He turned to her, and she realised he was asking her in all seriousness to educate him on what he was feeling. Biting her lip, knowing how sensitive the subject was, she tried to speak gently. "I think that's disappointment. Maybe even hurt."

Shendu snorted. "That would imply I had to love my mother to begin with. And I thought you said a demon like me couldn't possibly hope to comprehend such emotions."

"Don't think I've ever said those exact words…"

"You've implied it often enough," the bite of his words made her retract away from him. She recognised the truth in what he was saying. Since she'd come back to San Fran, the amount of times she'd pushed him away, said things like that because it was easier for her to deal with the hurt in her heart if she believed he couldn't truly understand such complex emotions. After a pregnant pause, Shendu finally glanced her way and muttered: "You're wrong, by the way."

"What?"

"About love."

"I'm sorry, you've lost me."

"You came to me in the vault, remember? You asked me how I could possibly understand love?" he turned his head to fully look down at her, to catch her stare so that she couldn't look away. "You said love is about trusting one another, about being happy for another, that love is selfless, about giving up yourself for another person. I say you're wrong."

A waiter passed them, and without turning from Valerie, Shendu reached out behind him and placed his whiskey on the boy's tray. Swivelling his body, he loomed over the small woman. Mouth dry and stomach doing odd little flips, Valerie found herself staring up at him, unable to properly catch her breath. She was spellbound.

"I know all about love, Valerie." Shendu said in a deep and throaty voice. "Love is not selfless: love is the most selfish emotion I've ever felt in my life. It makes me want to _change_ anything, _do_ anything, _be_ anything – damn the consequences – just to keep you with me. I am utterly selfish in my want to have you near me, gluttonous in my hunger for your every piece of affection. You say it is about being happy through another's happiness, but I find love only makes me miserable when I realise just what you might think of me. Love makes me want to disembowel myself at the thought that I hurt you, that I scared you. I am ready to throw away everything I am, for the sake of hearing you say the words that, I realise now, I'm _never going to hear!_ And even when I acknowledge that love will only drive me mad, I still cling to it with everything I have, because at the same time, seeing you smile gives me sustenance in a way that nothing else has ever done. Love is dangerous because I suddenly realise I don't want to be without it – even though I'm starting to know it is beyond my reach."

Breathless, Valerie couldn't drag her eyes away from him, not even as her heart felt heavy from his words. Declarations of love were common amongst her favourite romance novels. But none had ever been able to render her as moved as this. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Her predicament came back to the forefront of her mind, and her stomach felt like it was tearing itself in two. On the stage, the band transitioned into their next song.

A sad ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of Shendu's mouth. "It would seem the night is drawing to a close," he mumbled. Valerie frowned, surely the gala still had an hour or two left? Shendu held out his hand to her, the gold band upon his finger glinting from the fairy-lights. "Care to indulge me one last dance, _Mrs Stone?"_

Valerie was aware that there was some deeper meaning to this than she realised. But she was powerless to do anything else. With exaggerated slowness, she slid her hand into his waiting fingers and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. The music grew around them, and as Shendu positioned her, Valerie felt the rest of the world fall away into obscurity. All she could focus on was her hand on his shoulder, his arm around her waist, the hand he still held in his, their pelvises a hair's breadth apart, their eyes locked together.

_ _Brenda Lee Losing You__

Her heart was leaping inside her chest, she felt warm, safe and secure. Yet at the same time, she felt her body breaking into tiny little pieces. Shendu led the dance expertly, and despite the bittersweet feeling inside her, Valerie couldn't help but idly wonder where he had learned to dance like this. Even when she lacked the confidence to believe she wouldn't step on his toes, Shendu made sure she never faltered, pulling her along with nothing but a quiet sincere expression in his eyes. It was so intense on her face Valerie as if her skin was burning. There was tingle along her flesh, butterflies in her stomach. It became apparent to her just how close he was, their noses just inches apart… Afraid of her own reaction to his proximity, she glanced away.

Able to see past him over his arm, Valerie spotted the shadows moving at the back of the hall. Men in suits whispered to people throughout the room and hurried them towards the doors as quietly as possible. Amongst them, Valerie spotted Captain Black and Jackie, Uncle hiding behind the corner. Fear spiked in her veins. No, it couldn't be happening just yet – this was too fast! She wanted to vomit. Did she really want to betray Shendu in this way?

 _No_ , came her own voice inside herself, stronger than she would've ever realised. _No, she did not, not like this._

"Sh-Shendu…" she whispered. "There's something I–"

"I know."

Abruptly, she pulled back to peer incredulously up at him. "You _know?"_

"I put up perimeter spells when we came into the museum." He told her quietly, continuing their dance. "I knew the moment Chan entered the building, and when he sought you out. No doubt he's setting up an ambush to turn me to stone as we speak."

"And you're just going to let him?"

"What would be the point otherwise? I have failed my mission and reached the epiphany that love is beyond me." His voice was devoid of energy, tired of everything. He spun her out and then drew her back in, this time pressing her close to his chest. Valerie rested her head there, able to hear his strong heartbeat beneath her ear. She felt Shendu's nose press into the crown of her head, and he whispered in a voice for only her to hear: "Just say the words. Say that you do not, nor will you ever, want me… and I will allow Chan this victory."

Valerie bit her lip in an effort to stop herself from crying. Her heart was being twisted until it was ripped apart. A year ago, she might've jumped at the chance; here he was, telling her that he was finally accepting her refusal of him. But everything was different now – _she_ was different now. A tear slipped past her lashes and tapped the back of her hand. Eyes cast down, Valerie watched the droplet swim down her knuckles and nestled beside the golden ring on her finger. She stared at it, and felt a fire begin to burn inside of her.

"Go," she said in a quiet voice, leaning up on her tiptoes so that her lips might brush the bottom of his ear. "Make a scene and leave. Find Tiamat. Find answers. Don't lose hope. Not in her and…" she finished in her head: _and not in me…_

At first, Shendu did nothing but stare at her as if she were the most beautiful thing on this earth. With a watery smile, Valerie laid her head back down on Shendu's chest, closing her eyes. Beneath her fingers, she felt Shendu's soft suit turn to hard scales. His hands grew on her waist to engulf her whole back. Her hair was ruffled by hot breath as his snout elongated. He transformed back to his usual self, and for one moment with her eyes closed Valerie accepted the warmth she felt at dancing in his real arms.

The music suddenly stopped.

"Shendu!" shouted Jackie's voice.

Though she was prepared for it, she didn't need to fake all of her surprise as Shendu spun her around, pinning her to him with one forearm pressed against her collarbone. She tried to pull it away from her neck out of instinct, aware that as Shendu straightened, he dangled her feet off the floor. The agents swooped in through the now empty hall, but Shendu roared at them, showing his long ivory fangs. He held out his other arm, green lightning crackling along the scar on his palm. The human agents paused.

"Chan!" Shendu growled out when he spotted him. "Think you can thwart me once more?"

"Let her go, Shendu!" Captain Black demanded.

Jackie turned to Uncle, who had swept in dressed in white robes behind him. "Quick! The spell!"

"I think not!" Shendu flung out his hand, and Uncle was sent careening across the floor with a loud scream. "You can only catch one of us tonight, Chan. Which shall it be?"

To Jackie's credit, he answered without hesitation. "Valerie."

"Wise choice." Shendu purred, and Valerie could feel his smirk as he pressed his snout into her neck. She felt his claws close around the ring on her finger and tugged it free. Again, Valerie didn't need to pretend with the anguished cry that left her lips as he harshly tore it from her. "You won't be needing _this_."

With a harsh shove, he sent Valerie flying towards the other humans. She screamed, until she felt human arms wrap around her and catch her before she could hit the floor. Jackie's shoulder sagged in relief. The pair of them heard the loud CRASH of breaking glass, and looked up see Shendu jumping out of the window and into the night. Captain Black gave a shout to follow him –

Suddenly, the earth shook underneath them so violently, that everyone was sent off their feet. Outside, car alarms blared. Above, dust was shaken loose, and even a few bricks began to fall from the ceiling! Someone ordered for everyone to get undercover. Even with the ground still moving, Jackie ran with Valerie in his arms and crouched down underneath a table. Valerie clung to him, squeezing her eyes shut and endured the Earthquake as it raged on.

And just as quickly as it came, it stopped. Peeping open an eye, Valerie peered around as the dust began to settle. One or two people were injured, from what she could see, the museum looked as if it had been abandoned for decades, with debris and dirt and fallen cement everywhere. One of the walls even had a large ugly crack in it the size of two men.

"Is everyone alright?!" they heard Captain Black call out.

"Wh-what happened?" Valerie asked shakily, gratefully using Jackie's hand as he helped her crawl out from under the table. "Where's Shendu?"

Black cursed as he glared out the open window. "Gone. Blast it!"

The shrill cry of a phone echoed throughout the room. Jumping, Jackie fished the cell-phone from his pocket. He didn't even have time to say a greeting before a deep voice on the other end was speaking quickly. Jackie's eyes widened, and he nearly dropped the phone in his haste to shout at the others. "We need to get back to Section 13! Tohru says the demon-chi containment unit was damaged in the quake!"

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 **A/N: Please review!**


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